Does the U. S. need China more than China needs the U. S.?
After only three days of release, Marvel’s Black Panther is already the 129th highest-grossing movie in cinematic history; it also had the fifth best opening weekend ever, behind only The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Jurassic World, and The Avengers, and the biggest February opening of all-time. But the Ryan Coogler-film wasn’t the only movie to smash box office records this weekend.
Five films released in China — Monster Hunt 2 ($190 million), Detective Chinatown 2 ($154 million), Monkey King 3 ($79.9 million), Operation Red Sea ($70.3 million), and Boonie Bears ($40.9 million) — combined for a staggering $543 million at the Chinese box office from Friday to Sunday. According to Forbes, “That is a record-breaking figure for a single weekend, well-and-above the $305 million North American weekend of December 18,2015 when Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned $248 million over its Friday-Sunday debut.”
The record-breaking total — which, again, is more than any weekend in U. S. box office history — proves two things: 1) The U. S. might need China more than China needs the U. S., and 2) Iron Man v. Monkey King is going to be sick.
(Via Forbes and Variety)
