‘Rogue One’ Star Donnie Yen Discusses Why ‘Star Wars’ Films Fail In China

Star Wars is one of the worlds most popular film franchises although in China it has failed to ignite the box office in the same way it has in most other countries.

Whilst in a interview with JoBlo, Donnie Yen, who starred in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, discusses why he thinks Star Wars has failed at the box office in China.

“Chinese audiences didn’t grow up with ‘Star Wars’ culture so unfortunately it didn’t work,” Yen explained. “Marvel is a lot easier to understand. ‘Star Wars,’ there’s a whole universe out there. Marvel, from the costumes, to the music, to the idols, to the stars, it’s much easier to close the gap between the film itself and the audience.

“When you’re talking about American films you’re essentially talking about Western filmmaking: The structure, the finance, the distribution, the marketing,” Yen said. “That’s the gold standard, that’s the bible and I’m still learning. Chinese filmmakers are still learning, but at the same time we have an edge. We’ve been watching and studying these films. But – vice versa – I don’t think enough western filmmakers have spent the time to really analyze the Asian market, that’s why you’ll notice a lot of American films don’t work over here.”

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