'Wonder Woman 1984' Continues to Struggle at the Box Office
by EG
Wonder Woman 1984 sold only a small fraction of the tickets that its predecessor did on its opening weekend in US theaters. The film is struggling everywhere, but it's having a particularly hard time in China. WW84 made only a tiny splash when it opened there last week, and in its second weekend, ticket sales fell off to almost nothing. Worse, the movie's poor performance can't totally be blamed on the pandemic. Read on for details.
Hong Kong action sequel Shock Wave 2 rocked China's box office over the weekend, opening to a healthy $64.5 million. Youth fantasy film Dream of Eternity also did decent business, debuting to $38.9 million.
Hollywood tentpoles, however, fared far less well. Warner Bros.' Wonder Woman 1984 was effectively snuffed out, adding just $1.5 million in its second weekend, a 92 percent decline from its disappointing $18.8 million opening, according to data from Artisan Gateway. The superhero tentpole, which cost $200 million to make, has totaled just $23.9 million and is expected to earn only a little more. The first Wonder Woman film brought in $90.5 million in China.
Disney / Pixar's Soul, which opened over Disney+ in markets where the service is available, debuted to just $5.5. Amid a crowded frame, the animated title received limited screens for its China bow, but that could change slightly thanks to the rave word of mouth the film is generating.
Whereas Wonder Woman 1984 has left Chinese filmgoers cold — scoring a lowly 7.8 from ticketing app Maoyan and 6.5 from Douban — Soul, directed by Pete Docter, is already benefiting from an overtly positive reception. The music-themed film started in fifth place on Friday and finished in third by Sunday, as effusive buzz pushed its daily earnings upwards. Soul has a rating of 9.6 from Maoyan, a 9.5 on Alibaba's Tao Piao Piao and a 9.2 on Douban — some of the best social scores ever for a Pixar title.
Shock Wave 2's opening haul has already surpassed the first Shock Wave film's total earnings of $58 million in 2017. Written and directed by Herman Yau, the sequel brings back Hong Kong veteran Andy Lau as a top bomb disposal expert.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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