The critical and commercial reaction to Warcraft both here and elsewhere in the world has not been quite as positive as director Duncan Jones and his studio bosses might have hoped. But the film is getting a huge boost from China, where it has earned more than $90 million across two days, according to estimates.
Warcraft snatched the record for the biggest Thursday of all time, and its launch on Wednesday made it the biggest opening day for a non-weekend release.
This is just the latest example of the importance of the international box office (with China a particularly significant marketplace) to some big movies. Warcraft has been given a huge push there thanks to Legendary, which is owned by Chinese behemoth Wanda. It's actually playing in more than 67.5 per cent of all cinemas in mainland China.
And it's especially helpful, since the film isn't predicted to do that well in the States when it launches this weekend, with predictions ranging between $22-$24 million, a soft start for a project with a hefty $160 million plus price tag before marketing costs. So we may get to explore more of this world in future assuming the Chinese takings help to breathe life into a sequel in the same way that overseas box office helped Pacific Rim live on. Either way, that'll buy a lot of spare Doomhammers.