Warcraft Online Rights Sell For Record Fee In China

Duncan Jone’s fantasy epic Warcraft continues to dominate in China, and Legendary Entertainment has transitioned that into another nice payday.

Legendary brokered a deal with PPTV, a streaming platform, for over $120 Renminbi, which equals out to about $18 million dollars USD (via Variety). The fee easily surpasses the previous highest for an imported film. PPTV will have exclusive rights to Warcraft, and it can syndicate it to other platforms of its choosing.

This might be surprising in the states because the film hasn’t caught on with American audiences. The beleaguered film has only earned a little over $26 million here and has received mixed to negative reviews.

In China, though, the film is a massive hit and has already earned over $280 million. That breaks Fast and Furious 7’s record for highest grossing opening for a foreign-produced film. It even eclipsed Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens there, which only made $124 million by the end of its theatrical run. It explains why PPTV would pay an exorbitant amount so early, as they seek to capitalize quickly on the film’s growing fanbase. Only time will tell if they earn back what they invested, but companies like PPTV don’t mind losing a little money to grow their audience.