The box office in China suffered as the country continued to reject Marvel films such as “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, which was not released within the region, according to Business Insider.
While China’s box office beat out that of North America as the biggest in the world in 2021, they lost that designation in 2022.
According to Deadline (which cited figures that China’s Film Administration released to state media), China’s box office dropped 36% to $4.35 billion in 2022. Pandemic-related restrictions China’s theatrical industry in 2022 as it saw a surge in cases in 2022, leading to 40% of the region’s theaters on a lockdown.
It’s worth noting that no pandemic-era Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have been granted releases in China, and the last MCU film to open within the region was back in 2019 when ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ premiered and grossed $199 million. Furthermore, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ saw an even bigger box-office win as it grossed $632 million.
However, 2022 films were excluded from releasing, which included films such as “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, which were all prohibited from being released in China. Those films grossed $2.5 billion globally, but that number may have been significantly higher had the films seen a release in China.
According to the report, those films were reportedly denied releases over political and cultural sensitivities.
