The movie that made history by conquering a year to forget
It was one of the most damaging years in cinema history, but it did at least allow one movie to take advantage and carve out a slice of history.
(Credits: Far Out / Huayi Brothers / CMC Pictures Holdings)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Wed 15 January 2025 6:30, UK
It’s been half a decade since the pandemic first ground the world to a standstill, and the reverberations are still being felt around cinema. It was borderline catastrophic for the movie industry and completely changed the way audiences consume feature-length content, but it did at least allow for a small slice of history to be made.
Christopher Nolan severed his 20-year partnership with Warner Bros after the studio made the contentious decision to release all of its 2021 lineup on streaming the same day it hit theatres, while at-home viewership shot through the roof, leading to companies like Netflix, Disney, and Apple splurging billions on movies that were never designed to be seen on the big screen.
That knock-on effect has never really gone away, and for every Tom Cruise and Top Gun: Maverick or cultural phenomenon like Barbenheimer that rides to the rescue and gives the business a much-needed shot in the arm, it’s fair to say the shortened theatrical windows and insistence on rushing films to digital just weeks after they’ve premiered has reduced the necessity and vitality of the cinemagoing experience.
The global box office had never dipped below $30 billion since 2011 and reached a high of over $39 billion in 2019, only for the pandemic to send it cratering to $8.6 billion in 2020. Things have never been the same since, although the year cinema would love to forget if it hadn’t permanently altered the paradigm wasn’t without its winners.
The highest-grossing American film of 2020 was the action-packed sequel Bad Boys for Life, which was never realistically going to be beaten when it arrived in January before everything went to shit. However, it wasn’t the biggest commercial hit of the year, allowing director Guan Hu’s historical war epic The Eight Hundred to swoop in, steal the crown, and become the first international feature to ever finish the year as cinema’s top-earning title.
Admittedly, the accomplishment was diminished somewhat by the fact Hollywood was on its knees, and the percentage of people willing to even risk a trip to their local multiplex was tiny. Still, the period piece detailing the titular number of troops defended Sihang Warehouse from wave after wave of Japanese combatants in what marked a turning point and the beginning of the end of 1937’s three-month Battle of Shanghai sold more tickets and made more money than any other picture to drop between January 1 and December 31.
It’s the one and only time a non-American movie has topped the yearly box office charts, and as much as the Chinese industry continues to compete as cinema’s second-largest market, it’s unlikely that it’ll happen again. The Eight Hundred was one of 2020’s very few filmic success stories, and nobody will ever be able to take away its place in history.
Related Topics
ChinaWorld Cinema
THE Real Housewives of London is in chaos as creator Andy Cohen struggles to cast a glamourous set of Brits to take part in the show. The new series aims to replicate the huge success of its Americ…
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Indie cursive vocal style was popularised in the 2010s by the likes of Lorde, Adele and Halsey and more recently by Tate McRae, John Legend and Shawn Mendes.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Miley Cyrus has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump throughout his political career.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
You may have seen a surge in Nice Try Diddy comments under social media advertisements in the last couple of months
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is said to be following in the footsteps of domestic diva Martha Stewart and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, who both overcame public scrutiny.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Back-to-back Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs enter the NFL Playoffs this Saturday night as they face the Houston Texans. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and co clinched the AFC’s No.1 seed fo…
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
It comes after he lost his legal battle for taxpayer funded security last year
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Actor Song Joong Ki recently opened up about the reality of the Korean movie industry and teared up talking about the current situation.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page have split just four months after she said the BBC show wouldn't be "make or break" for their relationship.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Award winning Nollywood actor, Lateef Adedimeji has revealed why he denied an alleged romantic relationship with his wife, Mo Bimpe before marriage and how he proposed.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.