Even though "Warcraft" received, like most movie adaptations of video games, less-than-stellar reviews from critics, that hasn't stopped it from pulling in big money in the box office. As of today, the lukewarm film is now the most financially-successful video game movie in history.
"Warcraft," which did badly in the U.S. in the two weekends it was screening (drawing only $24 million in its debut and $6.5 million in the second), pulled in a staggering $156 million in its first five days in China, Variety reports. That pretty much almost offsets its $160 million production budget, and with new reports that the movie broke $200 million in the box office after the weekend. Right now, its international earnings total around $378 million. The movie is literally a bigger success in China than "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in its entire showing there (the movie made only $124.2 million).
That means the movie is bound to get a sequel no matter what, not even when its domestic reviews peg it as a cinematic disaster. It wouldn't be the first time that China (and the international market, for that matter) ended up saving what Americans see as a failure of a movie ("Pacific Rim" met the same fate, and is now getting a sequel).
Variety also reports that "Warcraft's" backers, Legendary Pictures (for production) and Universal Studios (for distribution), had China in mind for their plan regarding the movie. It so happens that "World of Warcraft" is insanely popular in the country, making it a big factor for its success. It also proves (although it wouldn't be the first one to do so) that international tastes (especially in as big a market as China) can play a huge factor in a movie's success, and that the West is no longer the sole deciding factor thereof.
"Warcraft" is yet to debut in 14 countries over the next two months, with the movie opening in Australia, Cyprus, Mexico, New Zealand and Venezuela next weekend. The juggernaut isn't stopping just yet.
