The movie based on Blizzard Entertainment Inc.’s franchise fantasy game could be on its way to becoming Hollywood’s biggest hit in China.
“Warcraft: The Beginning” has taken in more than $150 million since its early release there. The fast start gives it the potential to top an all-time record set by “Furious 7,” which racked up $390 million in ticket sales last year, according to boxofficemojo.com.
China has always been a key market for the Irvine-based video game publisher and accounts for about half of the company’s 5 million-plus subscribers, who pay about $15 per month to play “World of Warcraft” online with friends and foes across the globe.
Blizzard is the largest software maker in OC, with estimated annual revenue of nearly $1.6 billion and about 2,000 employees at its campus in the Irvine Spectrum.
China for years served as a significant revenue driver between big Blizzard game releases.
The company at one point made a practice of launching games there months after their U.S. and European releases.
Blizzard changed that strategy in September 2012, launching its fourth “World of Warcraft” expansion, “Mists of Pandaria,” in China just a week after the game hit shelves in the U.S. and other select markets.
China more recently was part of last month’s global launch of first-person shooter, “Overwatch: Origins Edition,” the first new Blizzard title in 18 years.
The game, which is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One—Blizzard’s first geared for the Microsoft Corp. console—already has amassed more than 7 million players, according to the company.
China appears to be bailing out the “Warcraft” movie, which cost an estimated $160 million to make and has been largely panned by critics. It sold about $24 million worth of tickets in its recent opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, finishing as runner up to Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s “The Conjuring 2,” which grossed $40.4 million for the weekend tally ending June 19.
The movie stands to boost exposure and branding to potential new audiences, but it doesn’t appear OC’s Blizzard will reap financial rewards. The film was financed by Legendary Pictures LLC, which acquired the movie rights, and Warner Bros., both based in Burbank.
Universal Pictures is the distributor.
Legendary in January was acquired for $3.5 billion by Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd., China’s largest commercial real estate developer and movie theater chain operator.
Chris Metzen, Blizzard’s senior vice president of story and franchise development, has a writing credit in the film for story and character development. Chief Executive Michael Morhaime is listed as an executive producer and Chris Thunig as art director.
The latest developments come as Blizzard’s Santa Monica-based parent, Activision Blizzard Inc., ramps up its newly created Activision Blizzard Studios, which is scheduled to premier its first production, “Skylanders Academy,” in the fall on Netflix.
The in-house film and television studio was established last year and is devoted to creating original content from Activision’s extensive library of iconic characters and video games, which also include “Call of Duty,” “Diablo,” “Hearthstone” and “StarCraft.”
