- No MCU
movies have been approved for release in China this year. - It's had a big impact on their global box-office hauls.
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Black Widow" are the No. 1 and No. 3 movies of the year at the domestic
But it's another story entirely in China, which surpassed the US last year as the world's biggest box office. None of those MCU movies have been released in the region, where the government must approve all foreign films for release.
"Shang-Chi" faced early controversy over the character's comic-book history; when first introduced in 1973, Shang-Chi's father was Fu Manchu, a character considered to have perpetuated racist Asian stereotypes. Shang-Chi's origin story has been rewritten several times over the decades since.
Then 2017 comments, made by star Simu Liu, resurfaced on Chinese social
Similarly, "Eternals" director Chloé Zhao, who was born in China, faced criticism from Chinese nationalists over a 2013 interview in which she said "there are lies everywhere" in the country.
The controversies and lack of releases reflect a "widespread tightening" of the China film market and Chinese media by the government, according to Aynne Kokas, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia and the author of the book "
Marvel movies have typically performed very well in China. "Avengers: Endgame" is the biggest Hollywood release at the
There could still be good news for the MCU in China before year's end, though.
"Spider-Man: No Way Home," which hits theaters later this year and is a coproduction between Disney's
Here's every previous MCU movie, ranked by how much money they made at the Chinese box office (per IMDb data):
- "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) - $629.1 million
- "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) - $359.5 million
- "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015) - $240.1 million
- "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019) - $199 million
- "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) - $180.8 million
- "Captain Marvel" (2019) - $154.07 million
- "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) - $121.203 million
- "Iron Man 3" (2013) - $121.200 million
- "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) - $116.3 million
- "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" - $115.6 million
- "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) - $112.2 million
- "Doctor Strange" (2016) - $109.2 million
- "Ant-Man" (2015) - $105.3 million
- "Black Panther" (2018) - $105.1 million
- "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017) - $100.7 million
- "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) - $86.35 million
- "The Avengers" (2012) - $86.30 million
- "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) - $55.3 million
- "Iron Man" (2008) - $15.2 million
- "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) - $9.3 million
- "Iron Man 2" (2010) - $7.9 million
- "Thor" (2011) - No data available
- "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) - No data available