What if we are all animated talking animals – like a perky rabbit, a sly fox, a shady viper or a plucky beaver – struggling to make it in the big city? That’s the premise of “Zootopia 2,” the sequel to the 2016 hit of the same name, which grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. The sequel may well be on its way to topping that record, after doing quite well among Chinese audiences. Barely four days into its China opening on November 29, “Zootopia 2” had a record one-day gross of more than 738 million yuan (around $104 million), raking in over 2 billion yuan in nine days. That is the power of the Chinese film market. What does this tell us about the tastes and preference of Chinese film-goers? Film industry insider Dede Nickerson, who’s a producer and advisor for DLN Media, clues us in.

  • xiaohongshu [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    16 days ago
    1. Zootopia was the first Disney film in China and was absolutely massive phenomenon back then, one should not expect less on the anticipation level of the sequel
    2. Very very poor state of Chinese film industry right now (full of nepotism and untalented people, it has “matured” into an industry driven by profit rather than artistic endeavor, you don’t really see auteur films coming out from China anymore)
    3. People are tired of Marvel superhero movies, which used to be huge a few years back
    4. People love animation films (see Nezha 2)

    Having said that, the Mandarin Chinese dub is very bad and the audience complaints became a source of controversy a few days ago. I listened to a clip of the Cantonese dub (HK version) and it is so much better.