High-budget flop bows out of the summer heat

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 17, 2018

The film is reportedly the first part of a trilogy, but all the titanic efforts were mocked after it hit Chinese theaters on Friday. People didn't buy the idea, and negative reviews poured in. Its score is so far only at 3.1/10 on Douban.com, an online movie review aggregation website. Internet users called it a "pathetic mess" that cannot resonate with the Chinese audience while others pointed fingers saying it is a copycat of "Game of Thrones" in its styling of characters along with other "weird designs." This forced its investors to angrily put out a statement on opening day, saying it is an "industry disgrace" for any organized and premeditated attacks on the film.

But during the creative team's six-year absence from China's film industry, many things have changed, including audience interests in the fantasy genre. Just as the heavily invested Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall" (2016) and Cheang Pou-Soi's "Monkey King 3" (2018) failed miserably at box offices, "Asura" apparently will not escape a similar fate.

The cast and crew of "Asura" pose at the film's premiere in Beijing, July 9, 2018. [Photo/ China.org.cn]

The film earned 48.41 million yuan (US$7.23 million) with negative reviews against its massive investment of 750 million yuan in its short stint in theaters from Friday to Sunday last weekend, as box office juggernaut "Dying to Survive" and Jiang Wen's new release "Hidden Man" dominated the Chinese market.

So far, Wen Muye's realistic drama "Dying to Survive" has already grossed 2.46 billion (US$368 million) in 11 days and Jiang's "Hidden Man" has raked in 313 million yuan (US$46.8 million) in just three days. "Asura" fit oddly with the competition and had little chance of survival against the two strong rivals.

And yet, "Asura" is not the only film to retreat from the heated summer film season. The kung fu comedy "Oolong Contryard," which was slated for a July 13 release, dropped the date without announcing a new one. Additionally, writer-director Guo Jingming's motion-capture fantasy animation "L.O.R.D: Legend of the Ravaging Dynasties 2" abandoned its July 6 release. And another 3D animation, "The Wind Guardians," quietly rescheduled its release date from July 13 to July 20, then again to August 3.

The suspension of the release of "Asura" could be a move to save the ship from sinking, but the producers and distributors for now could not answer when the film will be re-released and how it may regain audience buy-in.

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