news culture Nobody wanted to see this fantastic film that cost 160 million, only China could make a record out of this epic flop
This extremely ambitious project to adapt video games to the cinema almost failed, but without counting on the Chinese market, which turned a potential oven into a box office success.
A long-term project
Years before the incredible success of Super Mario Bros. with the film, video game adaptations barely caught on in the cinema. It’s not due to a lack of ambition, however, as the case of Warcraft: The Beginning shows. It took a long time for the feature film released in 2016, an adaptation of Blizzard’s software of the same name, to see the light of day. As early as 2006, the studio announced that it would produce a film based on its game in cooperation with Legendary Pictures. And big names in the Seventh Art are associated with the project.
Steven Spielberg was initially hired to direct the film before Sam Raimi notably worked on Saving Private Ryan from a screenplay by Robert Rodat. Years later, the project finally ends up in the hands of Duncan Jones, who had already signed the very good Moon and source code.
A confirmed director, a five-star cast that includes rising star Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Ben Foster, Paula Patton, Dominic Cooper and Toby Kebbell, a whopping $160 million budget… Warcraft: The Beginning had everything to be successful. However, that wasn’t really the case.
A flop saved by China
When it was released in the US, Warcraft: The Beginning got off to a rocky start. The feature grossed just $24 million in its first weekend of release and finished its run at just under $50 million at home. A real disaster, especially when you consider that profitability was around $400 million in sales.
But without counting on the Chinese viewers who rushed into the dark rooms to see this adaptation. In just one day of operation in China, Warcraft manages to match its US sales. Five days later, the film grossed $156 million. Ultimately, Warcraft: The Beginning was a hit with $439 million at the global box office, including $221 million in China alone. The feature film then went on to become the most profitable video game adaptation in cinema history long before it was dethroned by Mario… and its revenue is $1.3 billion.
