Nerve (Photo : Movieclips Trailers/YouTube)
Just because a Hollywood movie has Chinese actors or scenes shot in China does not necessarily mean Chinese moviegoers would come in droves to the theater to watch the film. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” which includes Chinese actors Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen but earned little in China is the best proof.
China Daily points out that “Nerve,” a Hollywood young adult thriller, is attracting young Chinese audience even if the movie does not have a China scene or actor on it. The attraction stems from the film’s theme looking into the dark side of being internet celebrities.
Internet Sensations
The theme is a natural magnet for China which accounts for half of the global internet users. China, after all, has its fair share of internet sensations, some of whom earn over 300,000 yuan ($43,000) monthly by showing off their talent on the internet.
“Nerve” opened in China on Jan. 6, the same day that “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” also began. However, while the three-day box-office of the “Star Wars” standalone film was a measly $31 million, “Nerve” is the second-highest grossing Hollywood film among the current movies running in China.
Movie Plot
Actress Emma Roberts stars in “Nerve” as an American high school student who becomes part of a livestreamed game in which players are challenged to do risky or wild dares such as streaking in a public place or kissing a stranger. She would be in a win-or-die situation with her rival, the character played by Dave Franco.
While the theme of internet attracted Chinese moviegoers, the failure of “Nerve” to provide a deeper look at the internet culture as well as its negative impact turned off the audience. The result was a 6.6-point score on Douban.com, a movie review site, based on responses of about 20,000 Chinese respondents, below the 7 score to be considered a quality film.
In a review of “Nerve,” Kaori Shoji of Japan Times wrote that the movie wastes the chance to deliver a constructive or memorable method because it is jittery with no idea about where the movie should head for. Eventually, it runs out of stamina and flops to the floor. That, of course, could be the point of this whole endeavor — and the ultimate statement about our modern, app-addicted society,” Kaori Shoji commented.
