Chinese film critics accused of limiting market growth

[Bosco685]

With all the attention critics received in 2016, it looks like being a critic could turn out to be an even more challenging role when blamed for impacting the growth of a box office market.

 

Film Critics Accused of Damaging Chinese Box Office With Bad Reviews

 

According to THR, professional film critics in China have come under fire for their negative reviews of recent domestic blockbusters, such as The Great Wall, starring Matt Damon, See You Tomorrow, and Jackie Chan’s Railroad Tigers. The Chinese media has claimed that “vicious and irresponsible” reviews are harming the Chinese film industry. The Great Wall debuted to $67.4 million before sliding down to just $26.4 million for the following weekend. It scored just 4.9 out of 10 on Douban, a Chinese aggregator site. One influential critic writing as ‘Xiedu Film’ slammed the film’s Chinese director with the vicious critique: “Zhang Yimou has died.” The Chinese co-production wasn’t alone in its relative failure. Alibaba Pictures’ romantic comedy See You Tomorrow earned $40 million with a rating of 3.8, while Railroad Tigers took just $31 million and was rated 4.7.

 

In response to the backlash from the Chinese Communist Party, aggregator Maoyan has gone so far as to remove the reviews of professional film critics from its main page, leaving only user-generated scores that are far more positive. A report from The Global Times, another Chinese newspaper, claims that officials from the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SAPPRFT) held discussions with both Maoyan and Douban about their ratings prior to the aforementioned removal of professional negative reviews.

 

The ongoing debate highlights the woes of the Chinese box office, which was hotly tipped to become the world’s largest film industry by the end of 2017. Particularly disappointing is the failure of The Great Wall, which marked the largest meeting of production companies from Hollywood and China of all time with a budget of $150 million.

 

Pretty soon, movie critics will require insurance to protect against film/industry damage.

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

I heard no buzz at all for The Great Wall in the US.