Posted in: Movies, Netflix | Tagged: blockbusters, Liu Cixin, movies, netflix, science fiction, streaming, wandering earth, wu jing

Netflix Picks up 'The Wandering Earth' for Worldwide Streaming so Everyone Can See It

Variety just announced that Netflix has bought worldwide streaming rights for Frant Gwo's Chinese Science Fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth starring martial arts star Wu Jing.

Adapting Liu Cixin's 2000 novella, the movie sees the world's government bands build massive engines to take the Earth out of the solar system to avoid its destruction when the sun goes supernova. If you're wondering why Humanity doesn't just build starships to leave Earth, it's due to the love for home that is central to Chinese culture. This is a big crazy metaphor for taking your home with you rather than abandon it altogether. Metaphors, everyone. Besides, it's easier to fix up the home than try to find a new one.

The Wandering Earth, China's first big budget Science Fiction blockbuster epic, is still in its theatrical run in China and the United States. It is currently the biggest box office hit in the world, amassing over US$600 million, most of it in the Chinese box office. The movie is still playing in 22 cities in the US and was still selling out at the AMC cineplex on 42^nd Street in New York City last weekend. It marks China's entry into the Science Fiction blockbuster playing field just as the Chinese space program is in full swing, with China landing the dark side of the moon.

As Jerry Zhang, manager of content at Netflix said, "Netflix is committed to providing entertainment lovers with access to a wide variety of global content. With its high-quality production and story-telling, we believe that The Wandering Earth will be loved by Sci-Fi fans around the world."

"The movie is a majestic feast for the eyes with massive production scale rarely seen in Mandarin films. Its post-production and special effects work spanned two years, undergoing more than 3,000 conceptual designs, and featuring over 10,000 specifically-built props, while employing an impressive 2,000 special effects shots and a substantial amount of computer graphics shots." The Netflix told Variety.

China wants as many people to see this movie as possible, and Netflix is the way this is going to happen. Of course, it depends on whether Netflix puts it on the front page when people log in. That's how Netflix promotes a title. That's how shows and movies become successful on Netflix while many other languish in obscurity because viewers don't even know they exist. Given that Netflix has made a big announcement of its acquisition, it is likely to promote the movie when it finally hits the streaming service.

Since the movie is still in its theatrical run, Netflix will announce the streaming premiere date for the movie later. I hope Netflix also pays for a new and improved set of English subtitles for the movie.

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