Member-only story
‘Mulan’ Falters in China: What Possibly Went Wrong?
Disney’s latest live-action adaptation certainly does not resonate that well with the Chinese audience. The reasons to why Mulan — being a film that centers around a Chinese heroine, and a live-action remake of Disney’s own 1998 animated hit- under-performed during its first weekend could be many, but demystifying them is not as intimidating as it appears to be.
Deadline reports that Mulan brought in a total of $23.2 million in China after a 3-day run, shattering earlier projections and impression that the Disney offering will make an astounding impact in its ‘homeland’. The Niki Caro-directed live-action adaptation was stripped bare from any musical elements, and even had Mushu -the comical dragon from the animation — removed. While all these look normal and match Mulan’s effort to project itself as a more grown-up film, it is widely known that those are in fact some ‘extra measures’ taken by Disney to better align the movie towards the Chinese audience, preventing any potential backlash.
Understandably, Disney does not want to step into any landmines that could potentially blow away their chances of landing a home-run in China, given how significant the box-office in China is for Hollywood films in the recent years. But by treading too carefully across the war-zone with profit figures taking up a significant level of their…
