The Last Dragon Soars and Crashes: Disney's Latest Dominates The U.S. Box Office, Burns Out in China

image courtesy Disney

The box office continues to struggle in various parts of the world as the pandemic continues to cause damage to finances for all the major studios. This weekend saw Disney's latest animated release, Raya and The Last Dragon take a foothold in the domestic U.S. box office with it's $8.6 million take but it still is only a shade of what it would have done in normal times.

A big animation hit for that studio would typically take in much higher opening grosses. Unfortunately, things may really start to improve until the summer when vaccines are much easier to come by. It did come in the number one position beating out any other competition from other newcomers like Chaos Walking and Boogie, but will need to recoup major money from its Disney+ premium rental. 

Strangely enough, the movie (despite its Asian themes) proved to be a near flop in China. It only cracked the number three spot in a market that seems to be getting tougher and tougher for U.S. produced films. The new release actually took in less than Tom & Jerry did in its opening frame and seems to be struggling due to lack of interest. This has been a problem for Disney in recent years with Star Wars and numerous others franchise films becoming  non-starters in that theatrical market. Raya only dragged in $8.4 million over its opening weekend in China which happens to have a tons of theaters open now. 

-CG