Chinese theaters have been fudging numbers and withholding revenue due to Hollywood studios, an audit performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the MPAA has found, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
As much as nine percent of ticket sales in 2016 were underreported by China’s exhibitors, meaning that studios were kept from at least $40 million in revenue.
According to WSJ’s sources, the audit reviewed the 29 highest grossing American imports from last year and investigated 125 theaters run by 27 different theater chains across China to come up with their estimates. The audit is expected to be the first of several, which are allowed as part of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S.