system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why American films flood markets in other countries, but we rarely see foreign films in theaters here.

Just out of curiosity I googled UK film charts and was surprised to see that most of the movies charting there were American films. Why don't we see films from other countries here? Are they not released here? Are they released here to poor reception?
gpt
To release a film in a country, you need distribution. Which means a company needs to look at a film and say, "we can make a profit off distributing it here." Hollywood has two distinct advantages here: often, they either own or are partners in a distribution company in major market foreign countries, and they have the money to run a large marketing campaign in foreign countries.

It should also be noted that the types of American films that do well in foreign markets tend to be ones that appeal to 16-24 year-old males, emphasize action and visuals over dialog (which minimizes the obnoxiousness of dubbing), and have simple, universal plots. You don't see many "intellectual," plot and dialog heavy films, ones with a lot of references and ideas that non-Americans wouldn't understand, nor many American films not produced by a major Hollywood studio, doing well in foreign markets.