`Last Jedi,’ a global smash, gets lacklustre welcome in China

WALT Disney’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi brought in an estimated US$ 28.7 million ( RM114.8 million) in its opening weekend in China, coming in below its two predecessors in the world’s fastest-growing market.

That brings the global haul for The Last Jedi to US$ 1.21 billion, the Burbank, Californiabased company said Sunday. It makes the film a success even if it doesn’t reach the heights of 2015’s The Force Awakens, which rang up US$ 2.07 billion worldwide. Disney has been trying to build an audience for Star Wars in China, where moviegoers didn’t grow up with the original trilogy, and by that measure the new film fell short. The Force Awakens brought in US$ 52.3 million when it opened there.

The last Star Wars movie to open in China, Rogue One, generated US$ 30 million in its opening, outside the top 100 movie debuts in the region, according to Box Office Mojo. The Force Awakens was the 41st. Universal Pictures’ The Fate of the Furious holds the record for the biggest debut weekend in China with US$185 million.

Disney has had more success with its Marvel comic-book movies in China, where universally understood action scenes and simpler story lines tend to translate better, according to James Li, co-founder of the Beijing-based consulting firm Fanink Research. The Avengers: Age of Ultron had the thirdbiggest debut on record.

“Word of mouth is dismal and worse than the previous films,” Jonathan Papish, an analyst at China Film Insider, a website that reports on the industry, tweeted after previews from China showed The Last Jedi lagging predecessors. The Last Jedi was challenged for the top spot by The Ex-File: The Return of the Exes, the third instalment in a hugely popular romantic comedy series about a group of bachelors, in its second weekend in cinemas.