'Warcraft' to draw on its Chinese fan base

By Zhang Rui and Guo Yiming: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, June 2, 2016

Duncan Jones, Paula Patton and Daniel Wu pose for a photo at a press conference for the "Warcraft" movie on June 1. The Hollywood blockbuster, which is adapted from the popular video game "World of Warcraft" (WoW), has launched a major marketing push in China, home to one of its largest gaming communities, ahead of its release on June 8. [Photo / China.org.cn]

The Hollywood blockbuster "Warcraft," based on the fantasy game World of Warcraft (WoW), with investment from Chinese companies, is set to open in record numbers in China, home to the game's largest fan base, on June 8.

The film, directed by Duncan Jones, will make its fans' dreams come true by presenting live-action scenes using cutting edge technology, explained Daniel Wu who stars as Gul'dan in the film.

Although he never played the game before, Wu confessed it was his wife, a veteran WoW gamer, that pushed him to get an audition for the orc-filled film in spite his previous plans to stay at home to look after his new-born baby.

"For veteran gamers, like my wife Lisa, the movie presents a lifelike scenario for something that they only played in the virtual world," the Chinese heartthrob said during a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday. "And for those who haven't played the game before, the fantasy film will attract them into an exciting new world."

Wu's role in the film was a particular draw in the country which boasts the game's largest fan base.

Duncan Jones, late rocker David Bowie's son, known for directing science fiction films such as "Moon" and "Source Code," said that working on such a game franchise was a lifetime opportunity that he couldn't miss.

"Working on a film based on a game which I have been playing since the very beginning - 20 years ago - was something that I couldn't pass on," said the British director of this big-budget blockbuster adaptation. The film also stars Clancy Brown, Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Toby Kebbell, Rob Kazinsky, Burke Duffield and Dominic Cooper.

"I consider my 20 years of experience in playing the game to be the best preparation for directing the film," he said.

Paula Patton, who was also in Beijing to promote the film, said the film not only has outstanding visual effects, but also resonates with audiences emotionally.

However, early movie reviews and box office projections suggest bad prospects for the film. It has received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 24%, based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 36 out of 100, based on 12 critics' reviews. Boxoffice.com has projected that the film will make only US$35 million on its opening weekend and US$78 million cumulatively in North America with only moderate interest among U.S. moviegoers, as it will open alongside "The Conjuring 2", "Now You See Me 2" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows"(set to be released the week prior).

But "Warcraft," which was three and a half years in the making, has a totally different forecast in China. The film will be released in China two days prior to its screening in the United States, as foreign filmmakers are vying to capitalize on this US$7 billion film market that's continuously growing at a stunning rate. It might be one of China's most anticipated films of all-time according to stunning presale figures, due to millions of players who grew up with the game.

Warcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment in 1994. The fourth and best-selling title of the franchise "World of Warcraft" is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The "World of Warcraft" is the world's largest subscription-based MMORPG with 12 million subscribers worldwide. As of January 2014, the game had more than 100 million player accounts (including the demo version) registered around the world. The game was introduced into the Chinese market in June 2005 and has more than 5 million players.

The film was backed by investment from Chinese companies, such as Wanda Group, which in January bought a controlling stake in Legendary Entertainment, one of the producers of the film. In addition, China Film Co. Ltd., Taihe Entertainment, Tencent and Huayi Brothers also poured money into the film project gambling on the success of the franchise.

By Thursday morning it took in 20 million yuan (US$3.04 million) for the midnight showing and 54 million yuan (US$8.2 million) for the opening day on a normal weekday in ticket presales, which has placed it at the No.2 top grossing presale film of all time in China, second only to "Furious 7" which made 52 million yuan (US$7.9 million) just in its midnight debut on Saturday. Considering it is still 6 days away from the opening, the presale figures will continue to rise and probably break "Furious 7" records, though the film is set to face competition from "X-Men: Apocalypse" which opens on June 3, five days before its debut opening.

Its release in the country roughly coincides with the Dragon Boat Festival, a three-day holiday from June 9 and 11 this year. During the same period as last year, the box office reeled in 600 million yuan (US$91.3 million). The date also comes at the end of China's college entrance examination period when the summer season begins.

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