Disney Bent the Knee, but Then China Turned Its Back

in Disney, Movies, Movies & TV, Television

A man in a suit stands smiling next to Mickey Mouse, who is dressed in a red tuxedo and holding a Chinese flag. They are in front of a backdrop with logos for Mickey's 90th Special, Disney, and ABC.

Credit; Disney

Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Walt Disney Company had an amicable relationship with China. The two worked together on theme parks, and nearly every Marvel Studios film released in China was guaranteed to make at least $100 million for the studio.

A large group of the Avengers making a stand in Endgame
Credit: Marvel Studios

However, that relationship came at a steep cost for Disney. The communist country forced Disney to censor many of its films and television shows to be accepted by the Chinese Government. However, that compromise in its ethics came with the benefit of a massive box office take.

But that was then, and this is now. Since the end of the pandemic, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Disney films have bombed at the Chinese box office. So, what happened to the once profitable relationship?

During the pandemic, China invested heavily in its film production. The Chinese people wanted to see movies about their problems that they could relate to.

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) in a red and black suit with a mask stands with hands on their cheeks in a surprised or shocked expression. Two swords are strapped to their back, and they are indoors with square lights above and a blurred cityscape in the background.
Credit: 20th Century Studios

For example, the latest Marvel movie, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), has made just $52 million in three weeks at the Chinese box office, while the Chinese film Successor (2024) made $439 million during the same time frame.

To put that into perspective, Avengers: Endgame (2019) made $629 million in China just before the pandemic. However, post-pandemic, China blocked the release of many Marvel Studios films in the country.

It wasn’t until 2023 that China allowed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to be released in the country. It would gross $15.5 million at the Chinese box office.

Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa in 'Black Panther'
Credit: Marvel Studios

Stanely Rosen, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California., told CNBC:

China learned all they could from Hollywood. Now they make their own big-budget blockbuster films with good special effects, and even good animated films … They don’t need Hollywood anymore.

In addition to the new Chinese Films, ongoing tension between the United States and China has damped Chinese audiences’ enthusiasm for American films. If they see the United States as their enemy, why would they support that enemy?

Perhaps the changes in the Chinese audiences will keep studios like Disney from changing their films to appease Chinese regulators. For example, Marvel Studios had to be very strategic about the jokes, cursing, and drug references in Deadpool & Wolverine to gain approval from Chinese authorities.

Henry Cavill as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine
Credit: Marvel Studios

Rosen added:

Movies are no longer putting China elements in there like they used to, because you can’t rely on the market even if it gets approval.  You make your film for the international market, and if it gets into China and makes some money, that’s great. But don’t count on it.

So, after years of bending over backward to appease Chinese censors, Disney appears to find itself out in the cold.

What do you think of Disney changing or censoring its films to appease Chinese censors? 

in Disney, Movies, Movies & TV, Television

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