When sci-fi films go south at the box office, they produce all-time dismal flops like John Carter or Battleship. However, given that four of the top five biggest movies ever at the worldwide box office are sci-fi blockbusters, this genre clearly can strike a chord like no other when audiences respond to it. Sci-fi titles like the two Avatar features, Avengers: Endgame, and Jurassic World reign supreme at the global box office. Even in the chaotic landscape of 2020s theatrical cinema, sci-fi blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Jurassic World Dominion have been among the biggest movies of the decade.
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However, one of the most successful sci-fi movies of all time is one that might not be a household name to Western moviegoers. However, its mighty box office haul and tremendous visuals certainly make it well worth remembering. The Wandering Earth, a 2019 sci-fi blockbuster from China, is one of the genre’s most lucrative entries.
How Big Was The Wandering Earth?
From director Frant Gwo (who also wrote the project alongside several other screenwriters, all of whom adapted the Liu Cixin novella of the same name), The Wandering Earth is a classic disaster movie centered on the planet Earth shifting further away from its current position in the solar system. This has left the surface a desolate, icy landscape that a handful of heroes like Liu Peiqiang (Wu Jing) and Liu Qi (Qu Chuxiao) must navigate. What follows is a grand adventure full of glossy spectacle that captivated Chinese moviegoers.
In its original theatrical run in its home country, The Wandering Earth grossed an eye-popping $693.37 million. Among all 2019 movies at the worldwide box office, The Wandering Earth was the 13th biggest of the year and the second biggest Chinese film of the year, only behind Ne Zha. It was a massive haul continuing the hot streak Chinese cinema had been on financially in the second half of the 2010s. In just the three years before Earth alone, fellow Chinese blockbusters The Mermaid and Wolf Warrior 2 had garnered massive box office hauls, with the latter film grossing $870.32 million.
The Wandering Earth was also seen as a massive triumph because it inhabited the sci-fi genre. As outlets like CNN noted at the time of its release, most films launched in China over the Chinese New Year holiday were much more grounded, low-budget affairs. The Wandering Earth, meanwhile, was a gargantuan sci-fi film that could go toe-to-toe with an average Roland Emmerich feature. A lucrative sci-fi yearn like The Wandering Earth further redefined the possibilities for Chinese blockbuster cinema.
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How Did The Wandering Earth’s Box Office Haul Compare To Other Sci-Fi Films?
A key reason The Wandering Earth’s worldwide box office haul remains so impressive is how it left so many other sci-fi films in the dust at the worldwide box office. This is despite Earth making almost all of its $699 million worldwide gross from just China, whereas other big-budget sci-fi projects procured sizable grosses from a slew of different countries. Gravity, for instance, grossed $723.2 million worldwide, just $24 million ahead of The Wandering Earth. Interstellar, meanwhile, grossed $681 million in its initial global theatrical run.
Four years before The Wandering Earth’s debut, The Martian grossed $653.6 million, a great haul, but below this Chinese blockbuster. Two of the original Hunger Games installments also made less than Wandering Earth worldwide, as did all four Men in Black features. The list goes on and on. The Wandering Earth resonated with audiences so powerfully that it far exceeded countless other non-sequel sci-fi tentpoles at the global box office.
Since The Wandering Earth, China’s biggest movies have largely returned to more grounded or fantasy-centric fare, save for the occasional smash hit title like Moon Man or The Wandering Earth 2. However, The Wandering Earth’s immense box office haul and loyal fan following still make it one of the most notable sci-fi blockbusters of the 2010s. Hit movies (and massive hit movies at that) can truly come from anywhere in the modern globalized cinema scene. Just look at how The Wandering Earth shook up the status quo and box office charts with its imaginative take on a sci-fi disaster movie.
The Wandering Earth is now streaming on Netflix.
