RaidensSword

They better not try and cut my boy Scott Adkins out of the movie. On a more serious note I think this movie is going to have the biggest box office of the series so far whenever it does it released. Yen's star is burning bright right now and marketing this as the finale is a great move. The actual theme of the movie should play well domestically too (unless it's ruined by cuts) Additionally, Adkins is well known with Chinese martial arts movie fans and even world wide the idea of Yen vs Adkins is so marketable to it's target audience. I personally can't wait to see it as well.

You just made me realise that by the tine the first sequel comes out, there is going to be a whole generation that wasn't even born when Avatar was released! That is both sad because of how long it's taken but also incredible because of the potential impact on box office and culture. A whole new audience is waiting to be embraced by this amazing Avatar universe. Waiting to experience in the cinema first hand what their parents could only describe to them. It's going to be amazing.

Let's hope so! Are you predicting it to break $100m in the U.S?

Plenty of evening shows for Looking Up. Not sure why it's not getting updates.

Quality wise, you are completely right. Box office wise, I think they have a significant impact in lowering the reputation of the Terminator brand,especially with younger audiences. Strong wom can counter this during it's run but I still think it faces an uphill battle to prove itself, which it wouldn't have to if the franchise was in a strong place.

I don't understand. Do you mean where the risk of it underperforming compared to the high expectations comes from? That's from it still being an American made version of a Chinese story. Will they be able to hit the right notes to appeal to the local audience? Quite a few of the movies that have tried to walk the line of appealing to both American and Chinese markets in that way have failed and not worked in either market. Kung Fu Panda achieved it but historical action epic and cartoon comedy are two different things. Then there's also that Chinese audiences are so familiar with the story that it doesn't have as much fresh appeal. There was a Chinese version of Mulan about a decade ago that wasn't a smash hit so it's not a guarantee of success. If everyone knows the ending and plot how many times can you convince them to go and see it? That's where Disney's marketing has to come into play strongly. If you just mean what happens if it flops, then the answer is not much. None of the recent Disney remakes have turned into franchises. They are one off retellings that also help push sales of the original. If Mulan doesn't do well they will just move on to next one, it doesn't affect their plans for Little Mermaid etc and won't stop them trying to cater to the Chinese market again in the future. The potential for profits is simply too big.

Don't get me wrong, I love the first 2 Terminators and Arnold is iconic. I was looking forward to this originally but that's faded pretty fast with the more I see. Unfortunately I feel Arnold is like a heavy and uncomfortable weight around this franchise now, people can't seem to support or take the movies seriously without him but at the same time, he's never going to be able to capture the magic that made him special in the role again. Shoehorning him in a via all these different situations is stopping them finding a real successor to the role or a story that stands on it's own. At some point they need to try and define what Terminator is for a new generation, the way Bond or Spiderman movies do, but they keep getting stuck in this middle ground under the shade of Arnold's shadow.

Maybe but since F7 was the first big hit for the franchise in China, it doesn't have the same downsides of franchise fatigue that the series has in the U.S. If it does drop, under F7 and F8 is still pretty huge numbers unless we are talking a total collapse and the audience for it completely disappears in half in a Thanos like snap. I can see where your "what if?" comes from but as you pointed out, different situations. CRA is based on Asian American meeting in laws from an Asian country (which isn't even China). It's told from the foreigner's perspective too and based on situations which most Chinese people wouldn't have experienced, especially since even marrying a non Chinese is still pretty rare and even discouraged (although this is changing). There was never a real reason for Chinese audiences to connect to the story. Box office expectations were only based on the weak idea that people would support it just because it was a Hollywood movie with Asian cast. Whereas Mulan is a based on a famous Chinese story with well known Chinese cast. There's plenty to resonate and connect with, there's a patriotic aspect to it as well. I even expect it to do better business in China than the U.S. It was released but much later and in such a different time for Chinese box office and socially so it didn't have the same impact as it did in the U.S. Nonetheless, a lot of kids watched it via piracy and later on it's shown on tv on major channels. So the remake definitely has some built in awareness in China among a certain age group, more than something like Aladdin or Dumbo ever did anyway.

I have no idea. I originally wanted to see him forced to become an Avatar at some point in order to survive, as some kind of cruel twist. However, now I appreciate him more as an actor I think I'd prefer to see his real face and not as a CGI character. Either way I'm excited, one of the most memorable villains in movie history for me!

Just catching up with these tidbits of news over the last couple of months. I would like to add one thing to this potential plot, which is that it makes sense as a direction.

Maybe but that's still vastly inferior to and less satisfying than having the full picture beforehand or at least some idea of the stakes. Can't comprehend starting at the end for anything like this, same goes for a series of books or a tv show. Great for box office. Just terrible for the way the Marvel Universe concept is intended.

This makes me so happy. It's great to read real tangible information about the sequels. I feel like a hungry customer waiting for a delicious meal and I've just been told it's already in the oven. The anticipation is building!

Thanks for posting. How credible is this information? If it's true that's a heck of a lot of faith in the name value and Cruise's star power in the current climate outside of MI. At least it should look amazing and hopefully have some really great air combat scenes.

Great for the box office but what a horrible way to experience the conclusion of a major franchise. Should have at least watched 1 2 and Civil War and/or at the very minimum Infinity War beforehand. So many moments and stories that people coming into it cold won't appreciate or understand.

Shazam did even worse than my expectations but really now Is the time to talk about the predictions I've seen of it going past 100m or higher (!) I don't understand how after all this time some people still think a foreign movie will be a smash hit just because it ticks a box (superhero) or because there is no big Hollywood competition at the same time, as if that gives the movie a clear path to walk over everything else for no real reason. You need more than that to do well and connect with audiences in China. The Chinese market and audience deserves to be treated with more respect. It's grown up fast and it's earnt it.

Awesome news about the End Game release date. Really excited about the potential for this movie box office wise. FWIW, I don't think you are far off, depends on the reception and competition but I still think it will be unlikely to reach 75M.

While this is correct and I understand your point, it's not a limited release in the standard sense, but it's screens are still limited compared to the amount of screens in China. People's habits change a lot in 7 years and maybe they are used to going to a closer cinema now. Not to mention there could be plenty of cinemas added since then in smaller towns or more remote places that could have showed it but aren't. Of course people who want to watch it will travel or go to a cinema that's showing it. But it has less chance of attracting walk up viewings or people who don't live locally to a cinema that is showing it and don't have the motivation to travel further. I am not calling for an expansion anyway, just adding my thoughts.

I think Dumbo will be a hit in the US but not in China. It is going to be competing with 人间·喜剧 The Human Comedy on week of release which has a lot more awareness online. Even though normally you could say it's good counter programming, I don't see Dumbo having much traction or interest across Chinese social media. Which is a shame as it does seem to have some nice family elements, as you mentioned. Maybe just a poor marketing job from Disney but I don't see how they can turn it around so close to release. I feel like Disney rely heavily on nostalgia for a movie like this in the US, at least to get the ball rolling and some initial buzz, but the original Dumbo is basically unknown in China. It is in 3D though, in contrast to The Human Comedy, so that may help it a little!

March 29th, same date as U.S

I'm fighting an internal battle between my love for Top Gun and my hate for Miles Teller when it comes to this movie. I really hope this sticks to the Mission Impossible formula of building the cast around Cruise and he stays the focal point. I don't want it to be a set up for 'Top Gun :The Next Generation' or something similar.

There's only one name people need to remember when it comes to Avatar. James Cameron.

I didn't even know this was being made. I would have preferred a CGI movie in Wreck it Ralph style, the standard Sonic design works in that world. I'm intrigued to see the trailer for this...

Of course not every member but the major heroes were treated more carefully. Iron Man (who had 2 solo movies beforehand) , Captain America and Thor, plus Hulk to a lesser degree. Justice League had only really introduced the new Superman and Wonder Woman. No one really knew what Affleck's Batman was about and then Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman were all new. Which meant going into JL with only one hero we really know, considering one person is absent for most of it. Yeah I totally agree that MCU have done a great job at building their universe during the last decade. I hope that WB/DC can also get on a good course with movies like Shazam and keep their own legacy intact so all comic book fans can enjoy seeing their heroes come to life!

That's good news.

I agree with your general point but nit that not many people knew who Iron Man was. I think he was one of the top Marvel heroes and involved in a lot of their major storylines throughout their media before the movie. There was a significant amount of awareness aming key parts of the target demographic imo. Edit: It's more impressive what they did with someone like Ant Man once they'd already used some of their well known heroes. Which is basically what WB are doing with Shazam now I guess.