Why the Warcraft movie is breaking records in China even though it’s bad

Let’s just get this right out in the open: the Warcraft movie is not good. It has been almost universally panned by critics. Rolling Stone called it “mostly worthless,” and audiences mostly seem to agree.

Except for audiences in China, where the movie is already smashing records. It made $45 million in China on opening day, and it broke IMAX’s records in China too. The critically-maligned film has already become something of a box office phenomenon in China, so much so that even sex dolls are going to see it.

But why?

More than WoW

The obvious answer – and the answer you’ll get from virtually every other news outlet – is that China loves Warcraft because China loved (and still loves) World of Warcraft. And that’s definitely true. Even last year, more than a decade after the game’s release, WoW still had 5.5 million global subscribers, with the biggest chunk of them in China. Even now, Chinese gaming site 17173 lists WoW as one of the ten hottest games in China.

But China’s love of Warcraft actually goes back further than World of Warcraft. WoW became so popular in China thanks to the enormous popularity of its predecessor: Warcraft III.

There were Warcraft games before Warcraft III, of course, but Warcraft III was the first to strike a chord in China. In many ways, it was serendipity: the game was released in 2002, just after game consoles had been banned (forcing gamers to PCs) and just as the internet was starting to take hold in China. Internet cafes were popping up all across the country, and for young people who wanted to play games, there was a lot of interest in multiplayer online games that were challenging, skill-based, and competitive. Warcraft III fit that bill perfectly.

The movie doesn’t just appeal to the MMORPG fans, it also appeals to the RTS and MOBA fans who played Warcraft III.

World of Warcraft launched elsewhere in 2004, but it wouldn’t reach China until mid-2005, and in the meantime, Warcraft III was growing. A small but increasingly popular professional gaming scene had also developed around the title, and when a Chinese gamer named Li Xiaofeng shocked everyone by winning the Warcraft III competition at the 2005 World Cyber Games. The success of a Chinese player on the professional circuit brought even more attention to Warcraft III, which by that point was already one of the most popular games in China.

World of Warcraft was an explosive success in China, but Warcraft III maintained a huge following for years, thanks in large part to its support for modding. The game spawned a number of competitive multiplayer gaming mods, including Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), a mod that spawned the entire MOBA genre of games (China’s current favorite genre) and that forms the basis for Dota 2 (currently one of the 15 most popular games in China). Those mods have helped it maintain its status; even now, almost 15 years after its release, China is still playing Warcraft III mods.

Don’t get me wrong: World of Warcraft was and is also a huge game in China, and the Warcraft movie is tapping into that. But China’s love of Warcraft goes deeper than just WoW, and because of Warcraft III it doesn’t just appeal to the MMORPG fans who played WoW, the film also appeals to the RTS and MOBA fans who played Warcraft III and its mods. MMORPG, MOBA, and RTS games are among China’s favorite genres, and since the film appeals the nostalgia of all three, it’s captured the attention of virtually everyone in China who played PC games between 2002 and the present.

No wonder it’s breaking records.

More than nostalgia, too