The Chinese Box Office: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars is arguably the most popular and influential movie franchise of all time, yet its performance in China’s box office, one of the largest in the world, has been dismal. The most recent sci fi saga in Disney’s new film trilogy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, but only about $43 million in China. Each Star Wars film has typically performed well at the domestic box office (some exceptionally so, like for The Force Awakens’ record-breaking gross), but the trend holds that Chinese releases of these films lagged considerably behind. So then who or what is to blame for this Star Wars slump?
First off, Disney is probably not the problem- despite the mixed receptions surrounding its recent Star Wars movies. After all, Disney has shown time and time again that its productions can have broad appeal in Chinese markets. The company’s colossal box office performance from Avengers: Endgame where $600 million of its $2.8 billion made came from, is certainly a strong testament to that. So once again, why is it that Endgame saw 20% of its box office earnings coming from China, while The Last Jedi will see just 3%?
To understand why, it’s important to look at the history of Star Wars. The first film debuted in 1977 and was a quick domestic hit. Adjusted for inflation, it has the second highest domestic gross of all time. But overseas in China, the movie was not released. In 1977, China had just exited the period of the Cultural Revolution, and government control over filmmakers and international showings was much tighter than it is today. With this historical knowledge, it becomes obvious how a movie with major themes concerning rebellion and oppressive governments might not have been a good fit for the times in certain eyes. In fact, it wasn’t until 2015 that the original Star Wars film, Star Wars: A New Hope, officially premiered in China. While pirated copies existed, China certainly had a delayed introduction to the Star Wars universe compared to much of the rest of the world. This delay has likely made all the difference in the recent movies’ Chinese box office performance.
Star Wars relies on and is enriched by fan knowledge of the “history” and workings of its universe to get the most out of interaction with its content. Because it was such a cultural phenomenon in the late 70’s and 80’s, it became a story passed down from generation to generation. I still remember when my father introduced me to the original films in the early 2000’s and when we went to see the prequel trilogy released then. His enthusiasm for the movies from when he was a kid transferred to me, as it has for so many other younger fans. Furthermore, fan retention and involvement grew through numerous successful books, video games, and wildly popular toys. Each of these different mediums drew people into the Star Wars universe and increased their ties to it. This deep connection to Star Wars material has made it an incredibly successful franchise in markets that had such exposure.
“ Chinese audiences didn’t grow up with ‘Star Wars’ culture so unfortunately it didn’t work. Marvel is a lot easier to understand. ‘Star Wars,’ there’s a whole universe out there.”
But China never had this exposure to Star Wars until fairly recently. Chinese moviegoers simply don’t have that cultural knowledge of and identification with Star Wars like many Americans do. This in turn causes the movies to be less accessible as compared to other popular franchises that have less of a buy-in tied to prior knowledge, such as Marvel movies. This idea is echoed in the words of one of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s stars and Hong Kong native, Donnie Yen: “Chinese audiences didn’t grow up with ‘Star Wars’ culture so unfortunately it didn’t work. Marvel is a lot easier to understand. ‘Star Wars,’ there’s a whole universe out there.”
Of course, Disney has not given up on making Star Wars a Chinese box office superstar. Just recently, the company announced a partnership with Chinese tech firm Tencent to have their Chinese Literature division develop a Star Wars book specifically for Chinese audiences. Disney’s new approach hinges on making Star Wars feel more Chinese and thereby develop a deeper connection with this overseas fanbase. Perhaps then, Star Wars will more fully be able to enter into Chinese culture as it has done in the US decades ago. This strategy will take effect over the next few years, and will likely play little to no role in the earnings of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to be released in theaters this December. However, Disney is undoubtedly looking to the horizon as it looks to set itself up for success in its next set of Star Wars films. If Disney can bring this galaxy far, far away closer to China, the rewards could be huge, and Disney could add yet another truly worldwide juggernaut franchise to its collection.