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☆ In China, Chest-Thumping Nationalistic Films Lose Momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Rachel Liang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘The Battle at Lake Changjin,’ advertised on the poster, was a victory for Chinese cinema. Photo: Getty ImagesIn recent years, a spate of chest-thumping Chinese movies has grown more prominent at the Asian country’s box office, elbowing out Hollywood with patriotic fare playing to an increasingly nationalistic audience. Now, there are signs that fatigue is starting to set in because of a lack of novelty.

Persons: ’, elbowing Locations: Lake Changjin

☆ Under Xi Jinping, China's military has become an untouchable nationalist symbol
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Yue’s alleged transgression: “uglifying” and “insulting” China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Under Xi, China passed a law in 2018 to ban the slander of national “heroes and martyrs,” a crime punishable by up to three years in prison. To outsiders, it may appear puzzling that China’s military, the largest and one of the most powerful in the world, would be so easily offended by a seemingly tame joke. Xi has staked his legitimacy on returning China to its former greatness, and a strong and powerful military plays a key role in driving that nationalist agenda. He has also ramped up China’s military posturing, sending fighter jets and warships to the Taiwan Strait and around the disputed islands with Japan.

☆ China continued to reject Marvel movies in 2022, and the country's box office plummeted 36%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's box office dropped 36% in 2022 compared to the previous year. Chinese film officials also continued to reject many Hollywood releases, particularly Marvel movies. China's box office dropped 36% to $4.35 billion in 2022, according to Deadline, which cited figures that China's Film Administration released to state media. The 2022 North American box office rose to an estimated $7.5 billion, according to Comscore, a 64% increase from the previous year. To make matters worse for its box office, China also didn't have a local smash hit last year, like it did in 2021 with "The Battle at Lake Changjin."

Hong Kong CNN —James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has premiered in China, 13 years after the original film took the country by storm. A poster of film 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is seen at a cinema on December 11, 2022 in Beijing, China. I immersed myself in the plot and enjoyed an unprecedented audio-visual feast.”Shot in the armThe “Way of Water” is expected to buoy China’s pandemic-depressed box office. By mid-December, China’s box office reached only 28.8 billion yuan ($4.1 billion), down nearly 40% from last year. The “Way of Water” accounted for 80% of screenings scheduled for Friday, the Maoyan data showed.

☆ A strong China open for 'Avatar' lays the ground for a film stock rally, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese audiences appear eager to see Disney's "Avatar: The Way of Water," according to initial ticket sales ahead of the film's Dec. 16 opening. In 2009, China accounted for only $910 million in ticket sales, but 10 years later its box office receipts swelled to $8 billion. Stage set for box office recovery Morgan Stanley's Xu expects China's box office to rebound 50% in 2023, to Rmb51 billion, with the assumption that China's reopening gains momentum in the spring. In China, there is a "rich slate of blockbuster films" ready to come to theaters, Xu said. With this in mind, Xu raised her price targets for IMAX China, Ali Pictures, Wanda Film , Enlight and China Film.

☆ The 'Avatar' sequel will open in China, giving it a chance to make the $2 billion James Cameron says it needs to break even
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"Avatar: The Way of Water" has been approved for release in China. The first movie was a hit in the world's second-largest film market, with over $260 million. Director James Cameron says the sequel needs to be one of the highest-grossing movies ever to break even. That would mean it needs to be make at least $2.07 billion to surpass the current No. China surpassed North America as the world's biggest film market in 2020 and 2021 as US theaters struggled to rebound from the pandemic.

☆ 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' is the seventh MCU movie in a row to be barred from China. It shows how a once essential market for Hollywood blockbusters has dried up.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's film officials have been extra stingy about granting Marvel movies release dates during the pandemic. Marvel movies are still some of the biggest movies being released right now. But "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" was just shy of $1 billion and might have crossed that coveted barrier with a China release. "Love and Thunder" topped its predecessor "Thor: Ragnarok" at the US box office but not in total global sales. DC's "Black Adam" was denied a China release, as well.

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