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'The Hobbit' opened to $49.5 million in China this weekend. New overseas total: $617 million.
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Around-the-World Roundup: 'Hobbit finale invades China, passes $600 million overseas...
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'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' has now earned $866 million worldwide:
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YEAR OF THE DRAGON
The Third Hobbit Film Just Set a Surprising Box Office Record
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There are many ways in which Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy is dwarfed by its predecessor, The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit’s padded plot didn’t sit favorably with fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, and the final installment didn’t achieve the kind of awards season dominance (or even presence) as Return of the King. And even though it did pretty well domestically, the Hobbit trilogy didn’t end up being quite the box office titan Lord of the Rings was back in the pre-Marvel era of 2003. That is, until today. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies premiered in China this weekend to a record-breaking $49.5 million, bringing its worldwide revenue to $866.5 million. Even greedy Smaug might be happy with that.
As we’ve seen more and more, it’s these global numbers, and, particularly, these Chinese numbers, that matter when it comes to the Hollywood blockbuster. China very recently overtook the U.S. as the world’s largest economy and tinseltown, driven, as ever, by tinsel, is in hot pursuit of the lucrative yen. According to some estimates, China’s box office could exceed North America’s by the end of the decade.
What does that mean for the future of big-budget filmmaking? It might mean more emphasis than ever before on visual spectacles that defy language barrier. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies certainly qualifies there. It might mean catering directly to Chinese culture as with Transformers 4 which, among other things, was partially cast by via a Chinese reality show.
But while amping up the spectacle and casting a wider cultural net both seem like pretty harmless moves, catering to an international audience may have a more negative effect, especially when it comes to diversity. Marvel actor Anthony Mackie recently spoke to this point saying a lack of diversity in American films makes sense to him because, “they’re not making movies for us anymore.” Meaning American values (whatever they may be) aren’t necessarily the driving force behind big-budget films these days. The best example of that this weekend? In China, not even America’s most popular sniper could take down a dragon.