At the Cannes film festival, it's difficult to find a producer who isn't interested in a slice of the Chinese box office, set to be the globe's most valuable by 2019.
With a burgeoning middle class among its 1.3 billion-strong population, China already has the most movie screens -- with new ones popping up at a dizzying rate of 27 per day last year, according to analysts IHS Markit.
And while ticket sales have dipped slightly, the potential profits from a smash-hit in China are bigger than ever.
The latest "Fast and Furious" movie has earned even more in China than in the US and the country is in the grip of a craze for the Indian film "Dangal", about a father who wants his daughters to become professional wrestlers.
"Chinese people have more money in their pocket and they want to pay for entertainment, to see a different life through cinema," said Lin Jing, producer of the only Chinese film showing in the official selection at Cannes, "Walking Past the Future".
Tie-ups have come thick and fast at the festival, with Beijing-based Jetsen taking a stake in the thriller "American Made" starring Tom Cruise, and a deal announced to sell the children's animation franchise "Moomins" for Chinese release.
But there's a snag: the Communist Party keeps tight limits on foreign films imported for screening in China, with the annual limit currently set at 34.
Rumours have swirled for months that Beijing is planning to expand the quota. But Jerome Paillard, director of the Cannes Film Market -- a deal-making shop that runs parallel to the main festival -- said Hollywood should wait before cracking open the champagne.
