Warcraft might only have a 22 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the movie is a box office hit in China. It raked in $45 million on its opening day, beating the opening for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Analysts believe the film is on track to make more than $300 million, beating the previous record for non-weekend launch, Avengers: Age of Ultron.
"Even [though] a lot of movie commentators have expressed their negative view of the movie, a lot of the Chinese still felt like they need to go to the theater to watch," said entertainment analyst Richard Huang. Many Chinese people now in their 20s and 30s grew up playing World of Warcraft -- half its 5 million places are located there -- so the movie has a massive built-in fanbase.
Warcraft cost about $160 million to make and looks internationally to recoup most of its budget.
“Warcraft has to be looked at on a global basis,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “With this kind of movie, that’s what really matters. The international box office can be the savior of your movie.”
Legendary and China Film Group are handling Warcraft’s release in China. Legendary is currently owned by Dalian Wanda Group, owner of the nation’s largest theater chain, which is giving the film a huge push all across China. Warcraft will play in a record-breaking 67.5 percent of theatre screens in the Chinese mainland, even more than the previous record-holder Furious 7.
“Some blockbusters are made, not born,” Dergarabedian said. “They're going to turn that thing into a blockbuster.”
The film is directed by Duncan Jones, son of the late artist David Bowie. It stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton and Dominic Cooper.
