China's most expensive film pulled itself from cinemas after 3 days

Asura, a fantasy epic adapted from Buddhist mythology, was conceived in 2012 by a Chinese producer who wanted a visual-effects blockbuster that could compete with Hollywood. Production stretched six years to a stated budget of 750 million yuan (about $112 million), making it the most expensive film ever made in China.

The money went into a star-studded cast and heavy CGI, and the film was marketed for months on Weibo, drawing some 390 million mentions. When it opened on 13 July 2018, it earned under 50 million yuan (about $7 million) in its first three days — a fraction of what such a budget needed to recover.

On 15 July, three days into release, the producer Zhenjian Film announced the film would be pulled from cinemas so it could be 'adjusted and improved' and re-released. The studio blamed a poor opening and suggested a paid 'water army' had artificially tanked its Douban rating of 3.1/10.

The withdrawal was widely read as an attempt to stop the embarrassing box-office numbers from being counted. Analysts projected a loss of about $105 million if the film was not re-released successfully, and the re-release never materialised.