The "Warcraft" movie is a big hit in China, raking in $45 million at the box office on its opening day and forecasted to beat "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in the country. The fantasy epic opened in China on June 8, Wednesday, two days ahead of the United States, and gained a tremendous number of followers in the world's most populous country.
The game-inspired movie experienced the best opening a movie ever had, as entertainment analysts believe it is on its way to earn $300 million and be the year's second highest earner in the country, CNN Money reported. The Mermaid" is the year's biggest earner so far, while the "Force Awakens," which earned $33 million on its opening day, ranks ninth.
Many Chinese in their 20s and 30s grew up playing the "Warcraft" game so the movie benefits from that. About one third of the game subscribers were in China with only 2015 having the lowest number of players in 10 years. China even has a theme park about "World of Warcraft," VOA reported.
Outside China, the film's reception is different. It is not doing well in North America. Aimed to draw even the non-fans of the "Warcraft" game, many criticized it instead.
Unfavorable ratings in Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritics show reviewers do not like it. It is given feedbacks as terrible and messy - an overpriced film that no one wanted, except in China.
As China is strict in controlling foreign films in the country, collaboration with Hollywood becomes common. Movie companies in the U.S. ask the support of local expertise to market their movies to the Chinese moviegoers.
The "Warcraft" receives a powerful support from China. Legendary Entertainment, its co-producer is owned by the Dalian Wanda Group, a big entertainment and real estate company in China. Wanda also owns the largest chain of theatres in the country. "Warcraft" is also backed up by tech giant Tencent.
While Hollywood is pursuing the growing number of moviegoers in the U.S., China is expected to overtake in 2017 to become the largest movie market in the world. Chinese box office sales soared 49 percent in 2015 to reach $6.7 billion, while the market in North America grew 7 percent to $11.1 billion.
Watch the "Warcraft" movie trailer below.