The first major Chinese blockbuster, The Wandering Earth, has been acquired by Netflix. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the near-ubiquitous streaming service has landed the international online rights to the film. Since its release earlier this month, the film has raked in $610 million at the Chinese box office, equivalent to the domestic totals of Star Wars: The Last Jedi or Marvel’s The Avengers.
The Wandering Earth is directed by Frant Gwo, who said that his film will “show international audiences that a Chinese sci-fi can offer a new point of view.” It’s based on a short story by Hugo Award-winning author Liu Cixin, whose book The Three-Body Problem made her the first Chinese author to win science fiction’s highest honor.
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The film’s story revolves around the imminent explosion of the sun, which prompts the humans stuck on Earth to try and propel the planet outside of the solar system to find a new home elsewhere in the deep recesses of space. Set in the distant future, China plays a key leadership role in world affairs and helps drive the survival mission.
The film stars Chinese action star Wu Jing. The actor previously wrote, directed, and starred in Wolf Warrior 2, the military action flick that took in a historic $850 million in China back in 2017. It’s co-produced by China Film Group and Beijing Culture, the studio behind both Wolf Warrior 2 as well as the hit drama Dying to Survive.
There’s no word on when the blockbuster will be available to stream on Netflix, but its another acquisition that shows the streaming giant it’s committed to providing more international films and TV series on their platform.
