‘The Great Wall’ Flopped So Badly That People are Doubting Future U.S.-China Films

“The Great Wall” took $150 million to produce with Universal contributing 25% of the amount. The remainder of the film’s cost is shared by China Film Group, Legendary Entertainment and Le Vision Pictures. About $80 million was spent on marketing.

The monster flick  earned $171 million at the Chinese box office, but that’s still way below investors’ expectations. It then made $36.5 million in the U.S., which is obviously far from impressive.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, despite taking in $320 million in global sales, the production will still reportedly lose over $75 million. Universal Pictures will also be “on the hook for at least $10 million.”

That’s pretty disappointing for the highest-budget Sino-American co-production to date. THR said the film’s domestic failure “toppled much hope” for major pictures of similar co-production.

Analyst Jeff Bock said, “The fusion of the No. 1 and No. 2 movie markets in the world will eventually happen, but it is a misfire, domestically speaking.”