The Great Wall fell under heavy criticism for its "whitewashed" casting of Matt Damon as the lead of a film set in China.
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The Great Wall also featured an international ensemble cast including Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau. The first English-language production for Yimou is the largest film ever shot entirely in China. Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou ( Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary's The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world's most iconic structure. Despite a big opening, it only ended up with $170.8 million in China, with the film expected to end its box office run with $320 million, which is considered a big disappointment. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that, while Legendary, Universal, China Film Group and Le Vision Pictures each financed 25% of the film, Universal was solely responsible for the global marketing budget, which is, "conservatively estimated at $80 million-plus." The big-budget action thriller opened first in China back in December, hitting big with $60.5 million, the third highest debut in China last year, behind Legendary's Warcraft ($65.1 million) and Stephen Chow's The Mermaid ($120.4 million), which became the country's highest-grossing movie in history with $526.8 million. A new report claims that Legendary will lose $75 million from the film, with Universal losing $10 million as well, putting the future of U.S. It seems that The Great Wall may also be the last U.S.-China co-production, with the film tanking at the domestic box office with just $34.8 million from just two weeks in theaters.
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and China, with Legendary Pictures and its distribution partner Universal Pictures equally financing the $150 million movie with Chinese-based companies China Film Group and Le Vision Pictures. The big-budget epic The Great Wall was billed as the largest ever co-production between the U.S.