Chinese ticket sales for the latest installment of the Fast & Furious franchise tanked despite star John Cena’s apology to the communist country for referring to Taiwan as an autonomous region.
“I made a mistake,” Cena posted on social media last week in Mandarin, after backlash stemming from his reference to Taiwan as a country, which China has long disputed. “Now, I have to say one thing, which is very, very, very important: I love and respect China and Chinese people.”
HOLLYWOOD ELITES AND US CORPORATIONS KEEP APOLOGIZING TO CHINA
Despite the apology, Chinese moviegoers opted to stop seeing the movie, and ticket sales plunged 85% from last week, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The film earned $136 million in China during its opening weekend and only brought in $20.8 million the next week.
The movie received negative reviews since the start, and it is unclear the exact degree to which Cena’s comments affected sales, but the movie has underperformed previous installments in the franchise.
Cena’s apology continues a growing trend over the last few years of celebrities and U.S. corporations apologizing to China for various infractions that challenge the sovereignty of the communist nation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Companies including McDonald’s, Delta, and Calvin Klein have all apologized to China for making similar missteps as Cena by referencing disputed territories such as Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet as sovereign nations.
Additionally, China has gained a significant amount of power and control in the film industry, routinely demanding movies be censored if they challenge China’s sovereignty in any way.
