Despite hopes that the Chinese box office would make up for U.S. distribution issues, Disney's live-action Mulan underperformed to the tune of $23 million in its opening weekend. Decisions were made across the board, some of which continue to cause controversy, to make the live-action remake appeal more to the Chinese market. The casting of Chinese star Liu Yifei, returningto the story of Chinese folklore, and aggressive marketing in China seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as the $30 buying option on Disney+ raked in more in one weekend than all of China.
Disney's live-action Mulan still follows the same character, but draws more heavily from "The Ballad of Mulan," the folktale with significant changes from the animated classic. Most notably, the splitting of the roles of Shan Yu and Li Shang into two distinct characters and the complete erasure of Mushu, as well as the removal of musical numbers and an overall darker, more intense tone. Though story changes were received with a mix of praise and criticism in the west, most notably regarding the issue of "honor" and the use of Mulan as a conduit for female empowerment, the biggest hit to Disney+ viewing has been controversy regarding Disney's efforts to draw in Chinese audiences. From Liu Yifei's anti-Hong Kong politics to the involvement of the Xinjiang region (an area accused of a state-sponsored genocide against the Uyghur Muslims of China). Evidently, they weren't worth it.
The Wrap reports Mulan has come out of its debut weekend with a measly $23.2 million, struggling to pull viewers from Tenet and the lingering Huayi Bros. movie, The Eight Hundred. Though the numbers are still about 23% higher than Aladdin's Chinese debut, Disney was probably hoping if not expecting Mulan to score much bigger points with the Chinese market, and making back the $200 million+ budget feels less than likely now.
Mulan's Chinese debut went under the radar a bit with all the chaotic controversy in the west regarding its production and distribution, but its poor performance isn't actually that much of a surprise. The effort by Disney to cater Mulan to Chinese audiences has been nothing short of seemingly desperate to please, getting made fun of quite a bit for its out-of-touch marketing and the disparity between the Chinese cast and the aggressively non-Chinese creative team.
One thing that isn't helping is that Mulan is, by all accounts, not an especially great movie. Reviews have come in at middling, often suggesting the efforts to update (or really traditionalize) the story have stolen a lot of its heart and charm, leaving Chinese audiences in particular - who can actually go see other movies - with no real reason to bother with it. Ultimately, while Mulan probably won't make its full budget back, the money it loses will likely be a drop in the bucket at the House of Mouse, and registered as nothing more than another necessary casualty of the 2020 year in film.
Source: The Wrap