Director Bi Gan’s dreamy pseudo-noir “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” defied the odds stacked against arthouse fare at the Chinese box office to take in a whopping $37.9 million on its opening day Monday. That total beat even superhero blockbuster “Venom” in both pre-sales and first-day mainland box-office tallies.
But the film is unlikely to maintain much momentum amid a backlash from viewers who felt they were tricked by misleading promotion into watching an incomprehensible highbrow flick, with one disenchanted audience member telling tongue-clucking elitists “to go eat s—.”
The movie’s first-day haul – achieved via cleverly marketed special screenings scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight and the dawn of the new year – marks the strongest-ever China opening for a local arthouse film. The $37.9 million score includes more than $15 million in pre-sales. But the film earned just $1.5 million on its second day (Tuesday), according to data and ticketing platform Maoyan.
But the film is unlikely to maintain much momentum amid a backlash from viewers who felt they were tricked by misleading promotion into watching an incomprehensible highbrow flick, with one disenchanted audience member telling tongue-clucking elitists “to go eat s—.”
The movie’s first-day haul – achieved via cleverly marketed special screenings scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight and the dawn of the new year – marks the strongest-ever China opening for a local arthouse film. The $37.9 million score includes more than $15 million in pre-sales. But the film earned just $1.5 million on its second day (Tuesday), according to data and ticketing platform Maoyan.
- 1/2/2019
- by Becky Davis
- Variety Film + TV
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