The Marvel Cinematic Universe was largely successful in China, a major box office market, until the last couple of years. Marvel Studios' biggest releases since theaters worldwide began to reopen were being rejected by Chinese authorities for a wide variety of seemingly arbitrary reasons. A Disney Asia executive was asked about the bans on three of the studios' titles and offered only non-answers in response to the issue.
In an interview with Variety, Disneys Asia-Pacific president Luke Kang was asked how Disney was handling the ban on Marvel Studios' last three films-- Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and now Eternals. Kang referred to past successes and stated that Disney was focused on long-term goals and not "individual events." He went on to say, "No one cannot argue with our overall success as a company in China. Going forward, we are very optimistic. Short term challenges will eventually iron themselves out."
When pressed again for comment on whether or not Marvel Studios' films will be released in the territory once again, Kang provided no specifics. He stated that Marvel continues to be a popular franchise in China, "We are excited to bring the Chinese consumers whatever new content we have, Marvel, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars or whatnot." He added, "It is hard to predict the moves of a government. Our job is to be where the consumers are at, understand the consumer, [understand] where our brands and franchises resonate. Within the constraints and confines that we are given, we are able to maximize our reach and potential."
Finally, when asked if these bans had an impact on whether or not certain projects will be greenlit with a decent budget, Kang seemingly avoided discussing MCU films and instead referred to the success of Free Guy, concluding the interview by stating that Disney is still committed to China and has long-term plans for the region.
Each of Marvel Studios' releases following the return of theaters has been banned in China for seemingly arbitrary reasons. Black Widow was effectively banned in China, reportedly due to negative word of mouth concerning Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which itself reportedly passed the government censors but never received a release date. Instead, Shang-Chi suffered controversy after controversy across Chinese media, largely centered on star Simu Liu.
The next major release, Eternals, has not received a release date and is unlikely to, due to the involvement of director Chloé Zhao, who was scrubbed from Chinese media, along with her film Nomadland, due to comments she made back in 2013 about the Chinese Communist Party-ruled government and country.
It's worth noting that China, which was worth approximately $9 billion in box office revenue prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, surpassed North America this past year as the biggest movie box office in the world. This comes at a time when the country is also experiencing a major shift away from foreign content, with cinemas required to screen patriotic films instead.
Source: Variety