Mulan Disappoints in China With $20-25 Million Box Office

Mulan is set to bring in $20-25 million at the box office in China and observers are underwhelmed. It’s not all bad as Mulan saw an 11% jump from Friday to Saturday, but the weekend is being projected to land near $20 million. That’s pretty far from what Disney was expecting from the live version of the beloved animated feature. Deadline reports that Mayan has slated the overall take for the film at $40 million. It’s unclear what exactly is to blame as there are so many factors swirling around at the release. First, the coronavirus pandemic’s effect cannot be overstated. Mulan was poised to hit theaters just a few days before the entire world slowed to a crawl. Then, Disney+’s pricing could be scaring some consumers off in domestic markets. Over in China, the boycotts of the film have been blacked out by the press, but it seems possible that the movement has been heard by some of the people on the ground there.

A lot of the negative attention on the film began when Liu Yifei previously tweeted her support for the Hong Kong police. “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong,” she posted on Weibo last August.

#BoycottMulan has been trending on and off for over a week. Joshua Wong is an activist who tweeted about the issue this weekend and that post caught some major steam on social media.

“This film is released today. But because Disney kowtows to Beijing, and because Liu Yifei openly and proudly endorses police brutality in Hong Kong, I urge everyone who believes in human rights to #BoycottMulan,” Wong wrote.

Mulan serves as a live-action remake of Disney’s 1998 entry. Both are based on the Chinese folk tale of “The Ballad of Mulan.” The live-action film also stars Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Ron Yuan, Gong Li, and Jet Li. Niki Caro directed the film from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, and Elizabeth Martin.

ComicBook.com gave Mulan a 4 out of 5 in its review, calling it the best of Disney’s live-action remakes. Charlie Ridgley said, “There’s an undeniable soul to Mulan that is as rooted in Chinese culture and folklore as it is in the animated movie we’ve all come to love. It’s truly the best of both worlds and I’m just disappointed I can’t see it in theaters.”

Have you seen Mulan at home? Let us know in the comments!