'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' is expected to flop at the box office in China

• "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" is expected to flop in China over the weekend after a lackluster Friday box office.
• The "Star Wars" franchise has struggled in China and each movie in the Disney era has earned less there than the last.
• "The Rise of Skywalker" is expected to have a big opening domestically this weekend despite some of the worst reviews in the franchise, but it will earn less than "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi."
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"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" is heading for the worst opening at the China box office of Disney's new "Star Wars" movies.

The movie had earned $2.2 million in the region by 8 p.m. local time on Friday, according to Variety, and was trailing behind three Chinese movies. The Chinese ticket service Maoyan is projecting "The Rise of Skywalker" to earn just $18 million during its theatrical run in China.

The "Star Wars" franchise has struggled to build an audience in China, where Hollywood is increasingly relying on its box office to boost its blockbusters. The Chinese theatrical market has been growing at a rapid pace and is even projected to dethrone the US as the world's box-office leader within the next few years.

Each Disney-era "Star Wars" movie has made less in China than the previous one. Here's how each of them performed there:

• "The Force Awakens" - $124 million
• "Rogue One" - $69 million
• "The Last Jedi" - $42 million
• "Solo" - $16 million

Despite the lack of enthusiasm in China, all of those movies except "Solo" grossed over $1 billion worldwide. "The Force Awakens" earned over $2 billion globally and $936 million domestically.

"The Rise of Skywalker" is expected to have a big opening domestically this weekend despite negative reviews, but less than the previous movies in the new trilogy. Boxoffice.com is projecting the movie to debut between $160 million and $190 million. "The Force Awakens" opened with $248 million domestically and "The Last Jedi" with $220 million.

"The Rise of Skywalker" had a 57% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the worst-reviewed "Star Wars" movie since "The Phantom Menace."

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