Warcraft continues to prove that capturing North American audiences isn't the only way to box office success, as the movie is now the most financially successful video game movie of all time thanks to the film's massive Chinese reception.
To date, Warcraft has brought in more than $200 million in China alone, according to Box Office Mojo. For comparison, the film's budget is estimated to be $160 million. China is single-handedly saving the Warcraft movie franchise, as the film's North American gross sits at only $37 million after two weeks in theaters. The film has raised another $100 million-plus in various other territories throughout the world, bringing the film's current grand total to $377 million.
That makes it the most successful video game movie ever, soaring past the previous record-holder Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Disney's video game adaptation managed to bring in $335 million back in 2010.
It seems safe to assume, then, that Warcraft sequels will be on the way (which is what the movie appears to have been betting on). The film will have earned more than double its budget when everything is said and done, even as it faces steep ticket sale declines. The movie saw a 73 percent decline in ticket sales domestically, making it the third-largest first week to second week drop of any film.
Regardless, the franchise is almost certain to continue. The film's success just continues to show that domestic flops can still be hits if a movie can capture the increasingly important Asian market. Blizzard's video games, including Warcraft and Starcraft, enjoy massive popularity overseas, and that seems to have helped tremendously when it came to making Warcraft a huge hit. That's not to say that the company doesn't have a large number of American fans as well, but it doesn't appear to have helped bring fans to the box office in the same way (poor reviews may have had some part to play in that).
The movie's circumstances are, in many ways, similar to that of Pacific Rim, Legendary's 2013 summer blockbuster. With a production budget of $190 million, the movie appeared to be a box office bomb when it only managed to earn $37 million in its opening weekend in North America, but that stance would change thanks to a strong international showing that would put the film's box office totals past the $400 million mark. A sequel is now in the works.
Expect to hear about Warcraft 2 sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the latest expansion for World of Warcraft, titled Legion, is due to be released on Aug. 30.
