“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the latest installment in Lucas Film Production’s legendary space fiction film series, has earned over $33 million since its debut in China on Saturday, Jan. 9, according to a report by China Daily.
As a result, "Star Wars" places as the third highest-grossing film on its opening weekend after "Furious 7" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
Walt Disney Co. hopes that the box-office performance of "Star Wars" in China will help the film knock off "Avatar" from its throne as the highest-grossing film of all time. Avatar earned a total of $2.7 billion in 2010, according to Bloomberg. So far, "Star Wars" has earned a global revenue of around $1.7 billion.
Despite the great sales, veteran film critic Han Haoyue from Beijing Times highly doubts that "Star Wars" will surpass "Furious 7" in box-office sales.
"From the perspective of a non-Star Wars fan, the film has almost all the elements of a second-class commercial blockbuster," said Han in an interview with China Daily. "The movie's makers, with their amazingly insular spirit, have managed to create a replica," which, according to Han, lacks creativity.
"Star Wars" also dropped in box-office sale on Sunday to $19.8 million despite the strong opening, said Li Duoyu, a film critic also known as Zifeiyu.
"As fans leave the market, the momentum of 'Star Wars' has entered the phase of a Hollywood blockbuster," said Li.
On Monday, Jan. 11, "Star Wars" was able to generate $5.3 million in revenue, less than 60 percent of the total box-office receipts earned that day, said Li.
Despite its slowing performance in the box office, "Star Wars" will remain to be a highly satisfying film for the fans.
"There are two major groups of fans--one for the prequel and the other for the original trilogy. I think this new movie has successfully catered to both," said Yang Guang, a 30-year-old mobile phone game developer and an avid "Star Wars" enthusiast.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has earned a rating of 8.5 out of 10 in IMDB.