Honestly I don't think you can write easily a chinese-centric movie that resonate with the audience in China because what's offer domestically is more authentic.
Mulan as a source material has been recycled so many times in their local media.
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‘MULAN’ has earned a disappointing $23.2M in China in its box office opening weekend.
- Thread starter IDontBeatGames
- Start date
Honestly I don't think you can write easily a chinese-centric movie that resonate with the audience in China because what's offer domestically is more authentic.
Mulan as a source material has been recycled so many times in their local media.
Reading that twitter live tweeting thread is actually painful to me. Even if it was the 90s I would've been shocked at this level of Orientalism, that they would do this in 2020 is beyond the pale.
Disney out here unironically employing people who think like this.
Disney out here unironically employing people who think like this.
Hollywood was also baffled by the failure of Crazy Rich Asians. It's like they don't understand there are different cultures out there with different history. This connects to the way America's largely white institutions treat diversity. They feel like there is a "one-approach addresses all" when that absolutely isn't the case. The idea that "If we put an Asian in this movie, it'll do well overseas!" is such a reductive way of approaching. Rogue One did this, hoping to boost Star Wars popularity in China but failed.
Which.... makes me curious because flicks like Fast and Furious and Transformers do gangbusters in China.... and for whatever reason, Star Wars just can't seem to do it. I'm sure part of it is because the films were never released during their original windows in the country.
Which.... makes me curious because flicks like Fast and Furious and Transformers do gangbusters in China.... and for whatever reason, Star Wars just can't seem to do it. I'm sure part of it is because the films were never released during their original windows in the country.
From what i read dumb blockbusters do well because everyone no matter the culture likes explosion and the movie are easy to understand even if your English isn't great
Star wars is too reliant on nostalgia to work in China when it's cultural landmark at least what i heard
Haha yea, NEW Star Wars has that.... but that makes me think deeper on Star Wars popularity elsewhere. I'm guessing because 1-6 is only available now, watching it in the 2010s, the films are probably tougher to get into. But the gulf of performance is huge.
Most giant blockbusters are incredibly self contained even if they're sequels. The Star Wars films require that you've not got an understanding of the rest of the fictional universe but that you're already invested in the prior films, TV series, books and so on. All you need to know about Transformers is that its about robots that turn into shit from outerspace who beat the fuck out of each other. Even the F&F films are basically just,"Good looking group of ne'er-do-wells goes on a dangerous adventure involving cars"
F&F did well in China because of strong family theme, ridiculous car action, multi cultural cast.
They know what works and did their best.
And people like Disney animations because they are Disney animations. Who want another a made-up version of Mulan?
They know what works and did their best.
And people like Disney animations because they are Disney animations. Who want another a made-up version of Mulan?
If you guys haven't read Walter Chaw's review, I highly recommend it.
Mulan (2020)
½*/**** starring Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Jet Li screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin directed by Niki Caro by Walter Chaw You can become an expe...
www.filmfreakcentral.net
Wait, were they really expecting Crazy Rich Asians to do well in mainland China?
lmao
Makes sense, likely a very generic film for China and I imagine they've seen loads of films like this already.
Dumbo, Cinderella and Jungle Book were very different from the original animated movies.
Yes, it's not a story chinese people seem particularly interested in.
Was it worth it Disney?
Fuck off with your Mulan, and your "gay person in Avengers scene that can easily be chopped out for Chinese markets".
Fuck off with your Mulan, and your "gay person in Avengers scene that can easily be chopped out for Chinese markets".
Hilariously... yes:
'Crazy Rich Asians' Tanked in China—But That’s Okay
Despite the odds, the romantic comedy was already an enormous success in the United States, from a critical, commercial, and historical perspective.
www.theatlantic.com
"Romantic comedies, the thinking goes, are too culturally specific to play well worldwide. The movie expected to be the exception to that rule was one of 2018's most surprising successes—Crazy Rich Asians, which was made by Warner Bros. for $30 million and released in the doldrums of August. It grossed $173 million domestically, outstripping all predictions; a sequel is already in development. Because its cast features a number of Asian stars, including Michelle Yeoh (a legend of Hong Kong cinema) and Lisa Lu, and because the plot centers on an Asian American woman meeting a Singaporean family, Warner Bros. had some hope for the film's crossover potential in major international markets such as China, Hong Kong, and Japan."
Can't really congratulate the poor performance from a region under CCP rule and policy, but I'm glad that it bombed outright everywhere.
Fuck the CCP for thier genocide of Uyghur Muslims and continued attempt to downplay the prevalence and active use of concentration camps.
Fuck the CCP for thier genocide of Uyghur Muslims and continued attempt to downplay the prevalence and active use of concentration camps.
lol. More like the controversies Disney generated:
- All white production cast
- Fucked up Chinese mythology
- Drops the empowering message of the original
- Filmed next to CCP sanctioned Uighur concentration camps
- Gave SPECIAL THANKS to the department in charge of those concentration camps
- Casted a CCP bootlicker as Mulan, who supports Hong Kong police crackdown
They fucked up on every single level.
Edit: This movie is made for literally no one. Chinese moviegoers hate it because it's inauthentic. Americans hate it either because it lost the tone of the original or is embroiled in human rights scandals. The CCP themselves banned coverage on it, because it drew attention to their concentration camps.
It's a failure.
Hilariously... yes:
'Crazy Rich Asians' Tanked in China—But That’s Okay
Despite the odds, the romantic comedy was already an enormous success in the United States, from a critical, commercial, and historical perspective.
"Romantic comedies, the thinking goes, are too culturally specific to play well worldwide. The movie expected to be the exception to that rule was one of 2018's most surprising successes—Crazy Rich Asians, which was made by Warner Bros. for $30 million and released in the doldrums of August. It grossed $173 million domestically, outstripping all predictions; a sequel is already in development. Because its cast features a number of Asian stars, including Michelle Yeoh (a legend of Hong Kong cinema) and Lisa Lu, and because the plot centers on an Asian American woman meeting a Singaporean family, Warner Bros. had some hope for the film's crossover potential in major international markets such as China, Hong Kong, and Japan."
I can't speak for Fast and Furious, but the reason Bayformers did so well over in China is the same reason the original Pacific Rim also did better there than in the States: giant fucking robots. And this is also why, in contrast, The Last Knight completely bombed there: it has the least amount of giant fucking robots of any of the films, but gives plenty of screentime to humans arguing over bayformers lore... and gratuitous Chinese product placement that Chinese moviegoers thought was dumb as hell. (Seriously, at one point, the main characters try to find a used car in America.... through a Chinese used car website.)
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After watching that movie, I immediately ran and opened an ICBC account. ICBC, the official bank of Optimus Prime!
That movie for real had the dumbest product placement ever.
Edit: oh shit I forgot that all the phones were LeEco in that movie lmao
No, this is just Disney thought they knew what chinese people like and it back fire spectacularly for them.
A lot of movies success in china without pandering, Fast and Furious and Jurassic Park for exemple.
"women don't use chi"
stellar writing all around.
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You forgot about Dumbo, which also bombed and was a pretty radical departure from it's source
There are so many wrongs to Chinese' taste in this movie I don't even know where to begin. Making this movie to comply every CCP censorship just add the final nail to the coffin. If the audience wants patriotic movie that fit CCP agenda, they don't need to watch Disney. China produces like a movie every year promote patriotism. LUL
Apparently an attempt to appeal to the superhero popularity. I get the feeling this is a really soulless production where everything was decided by a marketing committee
lol sorry those filthy chinese '''norms''' are infecting perfect western movies
especially movies like this one, directed and written almost entirely by. white americans. fuck off.
LMAO did no one at the production watch a wuxia movie or something? There are so many wuxia movie with woman as a master of chi/ martial arts and respected for it.
Edit: some awful opinion on this thread that borderline racist toward chinese people (not talking about the one criticising CCP)