This weekend pit the best of Hollywood’s action tentpole rolodex against China’s — and found that fresh local content has greater sway over local audiences in what is now the world’s largest film market.“Wonder Woman 1984” grossed just $18.8 million in China, almost half the approximately $34 million haul of Chinese actioner “The Rescue.” Both films far underperformed against expectations, however, as the Chinese box office saw its lowest pre-Christmas weekend since 2014, despite the country’s low levels of coronavirus threat.Dante Lam’s big budget spectacle “The Rescue” was one of the most hotly anticipated films of the late January Chinese New Year — and of 2020 — but saw its release indefinitely bumped after cinemas shut nationwide just before the holiday due to Covid-19 lockdown.
It was initially planning a Chinese New Year 2021 release, but as that window has filled up with majorly competitive titles — including other strong holdovers from last year,
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