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After days of controversy, Walt Disney Co. Mulan is getting a mixed reception on its debut Friday in China, a crucial market for the $ 200 million live-action remake based on a Chinese folk song.
Local reviews criticizing the way the film depicts Chinese culture, particularly the composition of female characters that some found too comical or scary, have discouraged some viewers from going to theaters.
Disney
Mulan is getting a mixed reception on Friday’s debut in China, a crucial market.
The film’s trailer was enough to put off Rachel Li, a 31-year-old entrepreneur who runs a short video advertising startup in Shanghai.
“I go to see new movies at least once a week,” Li said. “But I have no plans to see Mulan after watching the trailer. The composition of the actors is so scary. “
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Disney’s power of attraction is being put to the test in the world’s second-largest film market at a time when the entertainment giant is counting on the success of Mulan to help jumpstart revenue growth affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese ticketing platforms are predicting disappointing sales for the film, which was originally slated for release nearly six months ago.
Starting Friday afternoon, Mulan raised about 39 million yuan (US $ 5.7 million), and total collections may reach about 291 million yuan, according to estimates by the ticketing platform and data aggregator Maoyan Entertainment.
That compares with projected Chinese ticket sales of 406 million yuan per Beginning, the Warner Bros. blockbuster released last week.
Historical war drama in Chinese The eight hundred, which opened three weeks ago, has raised 2.5 billion yuan so far from the 2.9 billion yuan planned, Maoyan said.
Negative reviews
Coronavirus-related restrictions on theater capacity and piracy are likely to affect the numbers as well. On Douban, China’s largest movie rating website, 70 percent of the 40,000 users who viewed the film in theaters or while obtaining pirated copies gave negative reviews, compared with 13 percent of positive ratings. .
Days after Disney released the film in the US last week over its recently launched Disney + streaming service, criticism emerged on social media about the use of China’s Xinjiang region to film some scenes.
Up to a million ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang have been detained in camps China calls “voluntary education centers,” drawing criticism that Disney should not have filmed there or thanked local officials on the credits.
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy acknowledged that the decision to shoot some scenes in the controversial region has “created a lot of problems for us.”
CNN reported that McCarthy said it was “common knowledge” to film in China requires permission from government advertising departments, noting that it is standard practice to “recognize in the film’s credits, the national and local governments that allowed you film there “.
“So in our credits, that was recognized, both in China and at the New Zealand locations. And I would leave it at that,” he said. “But that has created a lot of problems for us.”
Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the box office gross or the controversies.
Meanwhile, China defended Disney’s decision to thank Xinjiang officials, saying it is “normal.”
While the uproar over the Xinjiang issue has been loudest abroad, including criticism from US Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley, attention in mainland China has focused more on the authenticity of representations of its own culture.
“The iconic Mulan story for all Chinese has already been told many times in the country,” said Chris Fenton, trustee of the US-Asia Institute.
“For Hollywood to tell the Mulan story successfully for a Chinese consumer is next to impossible, especially when a non-Chinese director and writers were used.”
Hit it or not, Disney can still count on a demographic in China, just as it does elsewhere: parents.
“I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews of the film, but I’ll keep going,” said Xiaojing Wu, a 40-year-old mother who said she plans to take her 10-year-old daughter to see Mulan In shanghai.
“I think it will be fun to watch it and discuss it with my son, and it’s okay if he feels the makeup or costumes are funny or ugly. It will be an interesting topic for us.”
