'Lego' film conquers 'Great Wall'
NEW YORK — “The Great Wall” was a hit in China. In North America, it was a dud.
The most expensive film ever made in China and with a budget of $150 million, “The Great Wall” was intended to prove that the world’s no. 2 movie marketplace could produce Hollywood-sized blockbusters of its own. Though it ran up $171 million in ticket sales in China, “The Great Wall” pulled in $18.1 million in its North American debut over Presidents Day weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That put it in third place behind last weekend’s top two films, “The Lego Batman Movie” and “Fifty Shades Darker.” The Warner Bros. animated release easily led the box office again with $34.2 million in its second week, sliding only 35 percent. Universal’s “Fifty Shades Darker” sold $21 million in tickets in its second week. Slammed by critics, “The Great Wall” didn’t measure up to its initial ambitions, but it’s made $244.6 million overseas.
