While Star Wars: The Last Jedi has performed pretty darn well in the United States, it had an abysmal start in China. The Force Awakens had ultimately made around $124 million in the country, and took in around $52 million in its opening weekend. With The Last Jedi, it was expected that its revenue would trend upwards, meaning it would likely take in north of $124 million, and would therefore likely have to make more than $52 million in its opening weekend. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
Instead, the film took in an abysmal $28.1 million in its opening weekend, pretty much guaranteeing it wouldn’t touch those final revenue numbers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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However, any hopes that you had of it maybe taking in $70 million or even $50 million should be snuffed out right now. According to a report from Forbes, China has dropped The Last Jedi from 92 percent of its screens. Last weekend, the movie had a 34.5 percent share of China’s total screens, and this Friday, that’s changed to 2.6 percent.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, as well as a bunch of Chinese films, are likely to blame, as they are set to premiere this weekend in the territory. Disney is well-known for their hardball tactics when it comes to theaters, and often require a minimum number of screens for a minimum number of weeks. Clearly, such a deal was not made with Chinese distributors.
While Star Wars: The Last Jedi will likely still make some money, there’s no way it’ll approach anywhere near The Force Awakens’ numbers — or even Rogue One’s $69 million.
How much do you think Star Wars: The Last Jedi will make in China? Let us know your predictions down below!
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SOURCE: Forbes