The almost 320 million yuan weekly sales of "Warcraft" in China was a big financial boon to the producers of the video game adapted into a movie.
After flopping in the U.S., the film even earned for the producer $24 million by granting PPTV, an online video network, post-theater rights to show “Warcraft” in China. With that amount, it even sent a record for video streaming in China, reported Wall Street Journal.
It would be more than double the previous peak-price for a single movie in the market, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Although with its more than 1 billion population, China has risen to become the second-largest film market in the world, Hollywood movie producers, nevertheless, find it difficult to find revenue streams for films in the Asian giant beyond its regular theater run. Streaming and video-on-demand services in China is still a young industry compared to the U.S.
Another challenge to Hollywood executive is the proliferation of pirated DVD copies of western films, killing any potential revenue stream beyond theatrical exhibition.
But Cecilia Yau, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers entertainment and media practice in Hong Kong, noted China is beginning to experiment with people paying for movies already exhibited in cinemas. But Yau admits, “The amount is not as huge as elsewhere, but the trend is growing.”
In March, Legendary Entertainment, producer of “Warcraft,” closed a deal with PPTV months before the film was shown in cinemas. After the film completes its global release, PPTV would start to stream online in September 2016 “Warcraft.”
At the time “Warcraft” opened in the U.S. in June, “The Conjuring 2” beat it for the top spot. Its U.S. box office receipt was just over $24 million, while production cost was as high as $160 million, according to The Verge.