The Lion King and Detective Pikachu Getting Really Strong Buzz in China

With China's population being one of the largest in the world, a movie's success in the worldwide box office is largely dependent on the Chinese market. Though China hasn't been that box-office friendly to the latest Star Wars movies, it looks like Detective Pikachu and the live-action Lion King are going to be faring pretty well.

This comes from Chinese box office tracker Gavin Feng:

As per insider @DanielRPK, this much hype in China could grant both the films a $1 billion box office draw, which could be a swell start for a cinematic universe on Detective Pikachu's side. As for The Lion King, I don't know if Jon Favreau ever plans to helm a sequel, but we do know that The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride is a very real movie, and it's based on another Shakespeare classic, Romeo & Juliet (the first movie being based on Hamlet).

Of course, success in the box office doesn't automatically translate into a lucrative franchise. The Warcraft movie performed incredibly well in China, but the profits weren't enough to get the studio hyped up to make a sequel. As for now, we have no idea if we're ever going to get a Warcraft 2; such a shame with all the set-up by the end of the film.

For now, we don't know if Detective Pikachu or The Lion King will truly soar in the Chinese box office. All we can do is just wait and see what clicks with the audiences there.

Catch Detective Pikachu in theaters May 10, 2019 and The Lion King July 19, 2019.

See Also: Ryan Reynolds Compares Deadpool & Detective Pikachu in New Image