Deadline notes that China was the top market for Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, the third installment of the giant-robot franchise, which tallied $165.5 million there in 2011.
This latest film included added Chinese locales, Chinese star Li Bingbing (known in the U.S. for Resident Evil: Retribution) and a big publicity push that included the world premiere in Hong Kong and the closing-night screening at the Shanghai Film Festival.
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Of course, it wasn’t without complications; a Chinese backer attempted to pull out of the film at the last minute, taking their $1 million with them and demanding changes to the film where their building had been depicted. Fortunately, the studio and the Chinese government, who had a stake in the picture, were able to negotiate an amenable deal without any changes to the film.
