Latest Marvel film's low rating shows Chinese audiences' aesthetic fatigue

People look at a display of Avengers villains at the Marvel Studios exhibit during the D23 expo fan convention at the Convention Center in Anaheim, California, on July 16, 2017. Photo: AFP

After bidding a three-year long farewell, Marvel re-appeared in Chinese mainland theaters on Tuesday with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With the film closing out Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with the tragic death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman, the film holds a special significance in the Marvel lineup. Many Chinese moviegoers went to cinemas to pay tribute, making the superhero sequel's release in the Chinese mainland even more significant.

However, "boring," "plodding" and "illogical" with a bit of "Avatar style" are some of the most common descriptors in reviews from Chinese moviegoers.

Black Panther (2018) grossed $104.6 million in the Chinese mainland, which helped the film to go beyond the $1 billion mark. However, repeating such numbers is very challenging.

The film opened in the mainland with about 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) on Tuesday, the worst premiere performance for a Marvel movie in the Chinese mainland in the last decade, according to Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan.

The film has grossed 35 million yuan as of Thursday afternoon. Based on current data and pre-sales for the next few days, Maoyan forecasts that the film will enjoy a lifetime gross of 107 million yuan in the mainland. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stands at a global total of $842.76 million (excluding Chinese mainland).

Sadly, reviews of the sequel also suffered a Waterloo, dropping from 6.0 to 5.6/10 on Chinese media review platform Douban. The first Black Panther movie scored a 6.5/10 on Douban. Chinese moviegoers' tastes have greatly improved in recent years and a similar story with different "retired and new" superheroes has caused aesthetic fatigue. The average Douban score of the seven Marvel films in Phase Four is 6.1/10, which is significantly lower than the average score of 7.5 for the 11 films in Phase Three.

During Marvel's three-year absence from the Chinese mainland market, the distance between mainland audiences and the studio has widened. The sense of disconnection and unfamiliarity with new characters may affect Marvel's final market revenue after returning to the mainland.

On February 17, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the start of the fifth phase of Marvel Studios' production schedule, will premiere in the mainland at the same time as North America. If it also performs poorly, Hollywood will need to realize that the glorious time of Marvel movies has passed in the Chinese film market after Avengers: Endgame in 2019.