Fears Beijing may influence what US film-goers see as Chinese firms buy cinemas

Dalian Wanda-owned AMC’s $1.2b takeover of Carmike will make it the world’s largest cinema chain. But the acquisition is raising alarms in Congress as lawmakers question China’s growing influence over Hollywood, and on American culture

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The AMC 25 Theatres and Regal Cinemas in Times Square, in New York. Picture: Alamy

Published: 7:00am, 21 Dec 2016Updated: 10:57am, 21 Dec 2016

On a sweltering day this summer, a handful of protesters gathered outside an AMC cinema in Times Square, New York, holding red signs proclaiming “AMC = American Movie Communists”. They were opposing giant cinema company AMC’s US$1.2 billion purchase of a rival chain, Carmike, which has cinemas in 41 states. The deal, which is still subject to government approval, would make AMC the largest cinema chain in the United States.

The protesters targeted AMC’s Chinese owners – the sprawling real-estate and entertainment company Dalian Wanda, which acquired the American cinema chain in 2012, creating the world’s largest cinema empire. The protest suggested the Carmike acquisition would further extend Beijing’s hidden control over American mass media.

But the protesters had not gathered on their own volition. They were being paid to be there by Washington lobbying firm Berman and Company, which is waging a war against Chinese acquisitions of American cinemas.

It was an example of the many unexpected ways a quiet battle is being fought to halt a trend of Chinese businesses gobbling up American companies. The battle’s reach now goes beyond traditional areas with obvious national-security implications – such as President Barack Obama’s decision on December 2 to block the acquisition of a semiconductor company involved in sensitive technology – into more surprising areas such as cinemas, where concerns about financial ownership collide with issues of cultural openness.

Berman and Company, which uses a network of organisations to carry out campaigns on behalf of anonymous clients, is led by Rick Berman, a veteran lobbyist who television news programme 60 Minutes once called “Dr Evil”, for his defence of issues such as second-hand smoke, trans-fats, tanning beds and payday loans. For decades, his firm has launched ad campaigns to attack targets like the Humane Society, labour unions and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The new campaign, called “China Owns Us”, is nominally run by the Centre for American Security, a registered trade name for a non-profit called the Enterprise Action Committee, according to Washington corporate records. A small group of people employed by Berman’s K Street lobbying office run these and dozens of other similarly structured organisations, the veteran lobbyist said in an interview.