China’s box office has seen Yan Fei and Peng Damo’s new film ‘Successor’ which was released in theaters on July 16th surpass the global phenomena of The Walt Disney Co’s latest Marvel film ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.
According to Maoyan (h/t The Star), ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, which has been breaking box offices records since it’s release, made a respectable $57 million (RM249.6mil) during its first 20 days in China, but the comedy-drama ‘Successor’ has made six-times as much within the same time period showing a shift from interest in Hollywood movies within the country of China.
‘Successor’ stars Shen Teng and actress Ma Li as a wealthy couple who build a life of poverty in an attempt to toughen their son up for the real world, and the movie has been a hit, grossing more than 3.176 billion yuan (RM1.9bil) (as of August 22nd) to become the third most-watched movie of 2024 in China.
Film experts from around the world have discussed the shift, as China audiences seem to be more inclined to see Chinese-produced films as opposed to Hollywood films.
“China learnt all they could from Hollywood,” Dr Stanley Rosen, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Southern California, said during an appearance on CNBC (via The Star). “Now, they make their own big-budget blockbuster films with good special effects, and even good animated films… They don’t need Hollywood any more.”
“The Chinese audience, mostly young people, want stories (that can resonate with them)… films that relate to things happening in China in one way or another,” Dr Rosen added.
Some have attributed the shift to strained relations and increased Sino-US tensions to the decline in interest.
