'Star Wars 7' tries to win Chinese market
- By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, December 18, 2015
As "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens this weekend in most of the world's markets, Walt Disney Studios has another uphill battle to fight as the company tries to win audiences' hearts in the world's second largest film market.
|
|
| Hundreds of fans line the Great Wall to pose for a fabulous group photo at the outstanding launch of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" promotional event in Beijing, on Oct. 20. [Photo/China.org.cn] |
The Chinese release date of the new installment of the "Star Wars" saga is set for Jan. 9, 2016. Disney announced last week that director J.J. Abrams, leading actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, as well as producer Kathleen Kennedy will attend the China premiere on Dec. 27 in Shanghai.
However,Chinese audiences aren’t as excited for the film as audiences in Western countries are. When George Lucas's original "Star Wars" debuted in 1977, China had just ended its Cultural Revolution and hadn't opened to the world. Though the original trilogy never saw a wide release, they were screened at some small film events and film archives.
Years later, 20th Century Fox eventually got the prequels, Episodes 1-3, to screen in China before and after the new millennium. "The Phantom Menace" (1999) earned US$5 million, "Attack of the Clones" (2002) took in US$7.2 million and "Revenge of the Sith" (2005) grossed US$11.7 million in the Chinese market, which has not expanded much by today’s standard. Although the numbers are less impressive, it was worth noting that the 3 episodes' box office results were ranked as No. 1, No. 3 and No. 2 respectively as China’s highest grossing foreign films during the year they were released.
As China has become the second biggest market in the world and is likely to surpass North America in the next several years, Disney has to weigh how China's performance will affect the blockbuster's worldwide box office numbers.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)