‘Warcraft’ Movie Box Office Sales To Confirm Film’s Sequel?

“According to THR, the movie earned “$44.5 million-$46.5 million on Thursday to bring its two-day total to $90.6 million-$92.2 million, according to estimates”.

Meanwhile, back in the USA analysts have nearly gleefully been predicting a flop of the highest order, pegging the weekend haul at somewhere around $25 million for a film with a $160 million budget.

Film critics have not been kind to the “Warcraft” movie. Not surprisingly, China has strict guidelines on how many foreign movies can be released each year.

It’s good news for Legendary and Universal, the backers of the $160 million video game adaptation. During its weekend opening, Warcraft has earned $145 million, more than five times more than its $27 million opening at the USA box office.

The single-day gross wasn’t quite record, with Furious 7 (of all films) taking the top spot for the region at $63 million, however it is markedly higher than other recent blockbusters.

The 2001 Angelina Jolie movie “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, based on the “Tomb Raider” video games, became a hit.

Just as expected, Warcraft took in a decent, but not impressive amount of money at the domestic box office market. Its worldwide box office has reached US$553.8 million, becoming the world’s biggest grossing Chinese film. The orc-packed spectacle has been the subject of scathing reviews and lukewarm (at best) fan support in North America, but it’s storming the box office in China.

“I think he’d be incredibly happy that I followed my passion which he always told me to do”, Jones said, when asked what his father would have made of the film. Will we be looking back in a few years at Warcraft as the film where China determined the success or failure of any given movie? (The biggest is the goofy Chinese comedy “The Mermaid”, while “The Force Awakens” ranks 9th, according to the popular movie platform Mtime.) Huang said “Warcraft” is benefiting from the fact that many Chinese in their 20s and 30s grew up playing “World of Warcraft“.

I’ll be doing my part to fight that trend in my own little way-I still have several friends from World of Warcraft who want to see it with me.