“Smurfs: The Lost Village” literally got lost in the U.S. domestic market over the weekend when it opened with box office results of $14.1 million. Sony, the producer of the film, is apparently hoping the situation would be different when the movie premieres in China on April 21.
On Monday, after the movie’s dismal opening while “The Boss Baby” topped North American box office for the second straight week with earnings of $26.3 million, Sony released a song to promote the movie, China Plus reported. Chinese singer Su Yunying wrote and performed “Blue Kids” specifically for Chinese moviegoers.
Chinese Version of Theme Song
After tapping Chinese actors in Hollywood movies to attract moviegoers in China to films like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “xXx: Return of Xander Cage,” Hollywood producers are using a different approach. They produce Chinese versions of the movie’s theme song, sung by local talents. The song is then released ahead of the movie debut in China.
Disney used that strategy for “Beauty and the Beast” when it tapped Jing Boran and Tian Fuzhen to sing the movie’s theme song which was originally performed by Ariana Grande and John Legend. Su Yunying said she felt joy when she watched “Smurf: The Lost Village,” leading her to compose “Blue Kids” which has simple lyrics and an electronic music style. She is a product of a Chinese talent show.
Glut of Family Movies
Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations, blamed the poor box-office performance of the Smurf film to a glut of family movies. Besides “The Boss Baby,” Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is still showing, Variety reported.
Bock said Sony should have waited for better timing. He said because of the opening weekend flop suffered by “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” the studio should no longer expect to make another sequel.