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The number of Western Films allowed in China is limited, and they all tend to do well. It's a soft power Beijing has learned to wield deftly that has led to so

The number of Western Films allowed in China is limited, and they all tend to do well. It's a soft power Beijing has learned to wield deftly that has led to some marked changes in the film industry.

r0b1n_yzl 10y ago
I’m from China. What you said is partly true. But the reason why the success of Warcraft in China is that this film is produced by Legendary Pictures owned by Wanda, the one that owns the largest number of cinemas in China. And Wanda is very good at marketing.
- Eliezer 10y ago
  Maybe the plot was sort of wuxia-ish? I haven't seen the movie so could be compleeeetely off base here, I was just trying to imagine what about the trailer I saw could map onto something that worked surprisingly well in China.
  - chillacy 10y ago
    Warcraft made more money in China than the most recent Star Wars movie. The reason I've read is that Star Wars came out back before China had big cinema attendance, while Warcraft (1994) came out when China was modernizing. It's a big cultural hit. Edit: check out this video of chinese audiences cheering for the Blizzard logo: https://youtu.be/l67mA7ah9qE?t=51s https://youtu.be/l67mA7ah9qE?t=51s
- lsiebert 10y ago
  Wanda acquiring legendary is one of the changes. Being owned locally means the pictures are more likely to be approved.
seanmcdirmid 10y ago
This movie probably wouldn't have even been made if not for China. It is just one of those things that would make studios fearful, and someone then says "but china..." I saw it with my wife who was an avid Chinese WoW player back in her college years. It was pretty much as expected: visuals are good, story was edited to heck, and the acting was...just bad. The reaction from other movie goers weren't that positive either...we heard people complaining about the story on the way out (this is Beijing BTW), though I don't think anyone thought it was "bad."

The number of Western Films allowed in China is limited, and they all tend to do well. It's a soft power Beijing has learned to wield deftly that has led to some marked changes in the film industry.

r0b1n_yzl 10y ago

I’m from China. What you said is partly true. But the reason why the success of Warcraft in China is that this film is produced by Legendary Pictures owned by Wanda, the one that owns the largest number of cinemas in China. And Wanda is very good at marketing.

Eliezer 10y ago
Maybe the plot was sort of wuxia-ish? I haven't seen the movie so could be compleeeetely off base here, I was just trying to imagine what about the trailer I saw could map onto something that worked surprisingly well in China.
- chillacy 10y ago
  Warcraft made more money in China than the most recent Star Wars movie. The reason I've read is that Star Wars came out back before China had big cinema attendance, while Warcraft (1994) came out when China was modernizing. It's a big cultural hit. Edit: check out this video of chinese audiences cheering for the Blizzard logo: https://youtu.be/l67mA7ah9qE?t=51s https://youtu.be/l67mA7ah9qE?t=51s
lsiebert 10y ago
Wanda acquiring legendary is one of the changes. Being owned locally means the pictures are more likely to be approved.

seanmcdirmid 10y ago

This movie probably wouldn't have even been made if not for China. It is just one of those things that would make studios fearful, and someone then says "but china..." I saw it with my wife who was an avid Chinese WoW player back in her college years. It was pretty much as expected: visuals are good, story was edited to heck, and the acting was...just bad. The reaction from other movie goers weren't that positive either...we heard people complaining about the story on the way out (this is Beijing BTW), though I don't think anyone thought it was "bad."