China lobs a blockbuster-hopeful to the USA with ‘The Great Wall’

THE NEW YORK TIMES

By Brooks Barnes and Amy Qin

2016 Chinese movie "The Great Wall"

HOLLYWOOD---“The Great Wall,” an epic fantasy film that cost at least $150 million to make, opens with Matt Damon fleeing on horseback through red stone formations in Northwest China. The movie, filmed entirely in China, was engineered not just as escapist entertainment but also proof that the Chinese film industry can serve up global blockbusters too — that event films can rise in the East and play in the West. The last Chinese-language film to become a breakout hit in North America was “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which awed with its martial arts and stunt work and took in a surprising $180 million in 2000, after adjusting for inflation. [link]