Hong Kong (CNN) 鈥� In recent years, China鈥檚 box office has been dominated by homegrown movies often with a nationalist lean, such as . But this weekend, a different type of film captured national attention 鈥� one that鈥檚 decidedly American and bubblegum pink.
has earned close to 86 million yuan (about $11.9 million) in China since its release on Friday, according to Chinese ticket selling platform 鈥� putting it in third place in all movies nationwide.
While that figure is small compared to the runaway success of 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� in the United States 鈥� it raked in $155 million domestically over the weekend 鈥� it could still grow as social media discussion about the movie picks up momentum. On Saturday, it was briefly the top trending topic on China鈥檚 Twitter-like platform Weibo, garnering more than 630 million views.
鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� was distributed by Warner Bros., owned by CNN鈥檚 parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
On Douban, a popular Chinese movie review site, the movie is currently scored 8.6 out of 10, with nearly half of all viewers giving it full marks. The comment section, too, includes glowing praise for the movie鈥檚 themes of womanhood and feminism, and its deft handling by director Greta Gerwig, also known for 鈥淟ady Bird鈥� and 鈥淟ittle Women.鈥�
Several reviewers called the film a breath of fresh air, comparing it to some Chinese movies still rife with outdated gender roles and the skewed male gaze.
鈥淵ou know, Chinese women don鈥檛 get many chances to see a high-quality, female-focused movie in the cinema,鈥� read one comment with more than 20,000 likes.
Another top comment compared 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� to another recent Chinese release, 鈥淟ost in the Stars,鈥� which had previously received criticism for its portrayal of gender stereotypes. 鈥淟ost in the Stars鈥� showed 鈥渇ake feminism under the male gaze,鈥� while 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� represents 鈥渇eminism from the diverse perspectives of real female directors,鈥� the comment read, with more than 18,000 likes.
Others reflected on the realities Chinese women face, with one remarking dryly that unlike the US, China doesn鈥檛 even pretend not to be a patriarchy.
However, some also accused 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� of only performing surface-level feminism, pointing out that the titular character鈥檚 doll-perfect figure could further perpetuate existing beauty norms. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 any new thinking about feminism, the movie is just an expression of old thoughts,鈥� one person wrote on Douban.
Feminist movements in China have faced numerous setbacks over the years due to censorship and an ongoing crackdown on activism. But it has also remained resilient; a number of controversies and sexual assault allegations have triggered waves of heated online debate, with women and supporters decrying China鈥檚 entrenched gender inequality and patriarchal society.
鈥淏arbie,鈥� it seems, inadvertently sated a thirst for better female representation and gender equality on screen 鈥� to even the surprise of Chinese cinemas and organizers.
On Friday, its premiere day, 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� screenings made up just 2.4% of all movie screenings, according to Maoyan, perhaps reflecting low expectations for audience appetite; by comparison, the Chinese film 鈥淎dvancing of ZQ鈥� made up 36.8% of all screenings.
But public interest surged. The movie recorded a 21.6% seating rate on Friday, meaning cinema screenings were 21.6% full 鈥� a high figure given most movies only see a rate of several percentage points. By Monday, cinemas had increased the number of screenings allocated to 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� to make up 8.7% of all movie screenings, according to Maoyan.
The film鈥檚 success is all the more notable given to break into the Chinese movie market 鈥� the world鈥檚 second biggest, briefly holding the top spot during the Covid pandemic.
China鈥檚 box office has and in recent years. All films publicly screened in China need a permit from regulators, with authorities clamping down on what they perceive to be inappropriate.
Though Hollywood has long tried appeased Chinese censors, many film studios have begun to rethink this trade-off, some deciding to keep in scenes that could irk censors 鈥� meaning many US blockbusters have disappeared from Chinese cinemas.
For instance, did not show in China 鈥� meaning no Marvel films were released in the country for four years until this February, when China allowed the release of 鈥淏lack Panther: Wakanda Forever鈥� and 鈥淎nt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.鈥�
The-CNN-Wire
鈩� & 漏 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
