Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Revenant" performs well in China. (Photo : Getty Images)
Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The Revenant” surprisingly took a huge chunk of China’s box office despite the country’s current protectionism policy that hinders Hollywood movies from outperforming locally made films.
Since its landing on Chinese cinemas mid-March, "The Revenant" fared better than most Hollywood films after earning an incredible 250 million yuan ($38.5 million).
However, surprising as it is, the movie's performance does not necessarily imply that the country's movie industry is warming up to movies from foreign countries, let alone the U.S.
In fact, insiders cited by People's Daily deemed the feat as the "exception" rather than the rule.
"Compared to other Hollywood blockbusters in China, 'The Revenant' is a surprising triumph. However, most industry insiders think this is an individual case that does not reflect the true market for Hollywood movies in China," the outlet explained.
Experts told People's Daily that the movie starring the first-time Oscar awardee was able to take advantage of the thing that greatly affects box-office sales in the country: timing.
They compared it to movies like "Gravity," "Life of Pi," and "Slumdog Millionaire," all of which debuted in China just before or right after earning commendation from the Academy Awards.
Aside from that, the success of "The Revenant" in China can also be attributed to the fact that the main star of the film was already popular in the country even before he made the film, proven by the fact that locals had given him an adoring nickname "Xiao Lizi" or "Little Lee."
In fact, the Wall Street Journal revealed that his Chinese fans were elated when he won the Oscars for the very first time after being nominated five times for the past 22 years.
"As people often do online, they like to ridicule him as a way to relieve stress. I think while they make fun of him, they also respect him," Shanghai resident and "Little Lee" fan Wen Yu told WSJ.
