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Matt Damon’s ‘The Great Wall’ Has Already Made Nearly $200 Million

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China is taking over Hollywood and it’ll be interesting to see how it changes the mega-blockbusters in the future. I think a small sample size is the forthcoming The Great Wall, which stars Matt Damon in a mystery centered around the construction of the Great Wall of China.

Let’s be honest…The Great Wall is going to make $12 here in the States when it’s released on February 17 (I at least know I’m buying a ticket). It’ll be deemed a huge bust and disaster by those who  have no understanding of box office numbers. So, let me nip it in the bud a month prematurely. The Great Wall appears to be a booming success already.

A quick, curious glance over at Box Office Mojo shows that this Chinese co-production has already pulled in $182 million internationally, which means it will, at the bare minimum, cross the $200 million line before it even releases here in the U.S. We have no idea what the budget was, including marketing, but a good comp would be something along the lines of Terminator Genisys, which cost $150m, and bombed here in the States yet ended up making $350m worldwide. The international success of that film may have fueled such co-productions and changed the face of Hollywood for the next decade or so.

The thing that rubs me the wrong way, though, is that The Great Wall was clearly not made for U.S. audiences, yet will be sold as such (Matt Damon!). Does this mean we’re to expect a ton of Blockbusters to get lost in translation as they battle for both Chinese and American eyeballs? Only time will tell…

The full cast includes Matt DamonWillem Dafoe (Antichrist, Spider-Man), Pedro Pascal (“Game of Thrones”), as well as Chinese superstar Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, which was remade as The Departed), pop icon Luhan, and actress Jing Tian(who will also appear in next year’s Kong: Skull Island).

“This is a Hollywood monster movie and needs to be made in that style,” director Yimou Zhang (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) told EW a few months ago.

“The film takes place about 1,000 years ago. At its core, it is a period piece and an action film. The fantasy element does play a major role because of the monsters. But, what makes our film unique is that these are ancient Chinese monsters. Even though it’s a fantasy movie, we filmed it in a very realistic way. We want it to feel like the events actually happened. Other than the monster, all aspects of this film are backed by either scientific or historical research.”

Great Wall

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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