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This was to be the Chinese equivalent of the American trilogy The Lord of the Rings … The film Asura finally became, in one weekend, one of the biggest flops of the entire history of cinema. So much so that after two days of a catastrophic exploitation, the producers decided to remove it from the poster.
On paper, however, one would have thought that it was going well: a pharaonic budget – the most high in all the history of Chinese cinema – 96 million euros (750 million yuan). Asian film stars shoveled up, including new darling Leo Wu in the leading role, accompanied by Tony Leung Ka-fai and Ming Dao. A Shocking Team at the Controllers: The Costume Designer of Lord of the Rings, The Audio Director of Oscar-Winning Films The Revenant and Birdman and Charlie Iturriaga (Deadpool , Furious 7) in charge of special effects.
Only the realization, entrusted to Peng Zhang, renowned choreographer of cascades in Hollywood (Rush Hour, Twilight … ) could raise the questioning … Rightly: in place and place of Lord of the Rings, the audience probably found themselves with a Game of Thrones gnangnan at a discount, with flashy effects.
A Shepherd in an Epic Adventure
The story of this science fiction film (supposed to be the first in a trilogy), 2:21 am is based on Tibetan Buddhist mythology. The kingdom of Asura, a sort of "dimension of pure desire," is threatened by evil demigods from other celestial kingdoms. Teen Executioner Lei Wu (19) plays Ruyi, the hero of the film: a young shepherd embarked on an epic adventure to save the kingdom. The set was set for, as the producers hoped, a potentially global success.
But that did not go as planned: despite the 96 million euros invested, six years of work and fifteen months of post-production is the tragedy. Released this Friday in China, the film is struggling to fill the rooms: only 6 million euros are collected. So much so that Sunday night, a terse message from the official account of the film, on a Chinese social network (Weibo), announces the unthinkable: Asura is removed from the rooms, from 22 pm, the same day. All without any explanation.
The producers (including the giant Alibaba Pictures, Zhenjian Film Studio, Ningxia Film Group …) are nevertheless keen to present their "deep apologies to the spectators who could not see the film, and than the participants, Chinese and international, who have been involved in production, for six years. Or 2,500 people.
Victim of a sabotage?
However, a little later, one of the executive producers of Zhenjian Film indicates, at the Chinese news site Sina, that ] "This decision is not solely due to poor box office results. We plan to make some changes in the film and release it again. "
In a second message on social networks, the producers estimate that Asura was victim of a smear campaign, sabotage on the internet. In China, 90% of the box office for the cinema is sold online, and two sites take the lion's share: Tiao Piao Piao (owned by Alibaba, producer of the film) and Maoyan (partly owned by the main competitor of 'Alibaba, Tencent). This is where the business gets into trouble: the two platforms offer users to rate the movies, to allow other visitors to make an opinion before going to see the film … A note that may have to enormous consequences on the popularity of an outing.
The producers of Asura estimate that an unusually high number of 1/10 appeared on Maoyan (the film gets a general score of 4.9 / 10, at the time of its release) , posted by "suspicious" accounts, immediately after the release of the film. The implication is that an "army" of small hands would have been recruited to broadcast negative critiques, massively, on the networks, to discourage the hesitant to go see the film. The note on Tiao Piao Piao is also very different: 8.4 / 10.
Questioning the integrity of the Maoyan platform, the producers are enraged towards those whom they consider guilty: "Whatever the people behind that, they are infamous, stupid and ridiculous. " The notes on the two sites have since been substantially rebalanced.
Waiting for a hypothetical second release, Asura is one of the biggest commercial flops of world cinema. Of these, Pluto Nash (with Eddie Murphy, in 2002), Speed Racer of the Wachowski brothers (2008) or On 13 e Warrior (by John Mc Tiernan, with Antonio Banderas, in 1999) … All showed a trade deficit of about $ 100 million.
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