China Market is Softening on Iger and Disney

When Bob Iger returned as CEO, it was widely believed that his return would warm the relationship between Disney and China that had soured under his predecessor, former CEO Bob Chapek. A mere two days after Iger’s return, Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water (2023) received permission from the Chinese government to be released in the Communist nation. Avatar even received a release extension, a rarity in China. This allowed the film to gross more than $240 million in China.

Only a few Disney movies received permission for release in China during Chapek’s tenure, and the last four Marvel movies released during his tenure were not granted a release date. The change can be blamed on Covid lockdowns in China, freezing the box office there, and hurting the gates at Disney’s Shanghai Disneyland. It was also partly due to the unpredictable nature of China’s leaders and not necessarily any fault of Chapek’s leadership—at least not this time.

Shortly after Disney released Avatar, it also secured the release of Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)  and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).  Marvel movies have historically done well in China, and Disney had high hopes that its two latest releases would do equally.

But now it appears China is softening on Iger and Disney, and Disney’s hopes for stellar box office returns from the Chinese market have flopped. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has only taken in $15.6 million, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has grossed $39 million.

The Chinese market is still strong, but not for Disney’s latest releases. Japanese anime film Suzume grossed more than $50 million in its opening weekend and is expected to gross more than $90 million during its run.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was widely panned by critics but had a solid opening weekend in America, but then suffered the largest box office drop in Marvel history. At this point, it has only grossed $466.9 million worldwide.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever received the first acting Academy Award nomination in the MCU. Angela Bassett received the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress but lost to Jaime Lee Curtis. So far, Wakanda Forever has grossed $858.9 million worldwide.

Disney hopes this is a blip on the radar rather than a sign of changing Chinese viewing habits. Marvel will release Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 in China later this year. In comparison, the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films grossed more than $187 million combined in China.

But Disney fears that Chinese audiences’ tastes may have changed after years without a Marvel movie. China has taken a hit here in America for censuring movies for content and not allowing its people to view the movie the way the studios intended. Disney has also come under fire for allowing China to censure shows and movies on its streaming platform, Disney Plus.

Disney continues to stress that it does not need the Chinese market in order for its movies to do well and in the past, Marvel’s release in China has been the cherry on top of already large box-office hits. But with the recent downturn for some of its new releases, the Chinese market is becoming more important for Disney to turn an even larger profit on these films.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.