(RightWing.org) – Former WWE wrestling champion John Cena hit the headlines in a big way last week after fumbling his attempt to undo an embarrassing gaffe. It all began with an interview he gave in Chinese to a Taiwan broadcasting company promoting his upcoming film, “Fast & Furious 9” or F9 for short.
He claimed Taiwan would be the first “country” to view the movie. There’s just one hitch — China claims control over the territory. He tried to fix everything by posting an apology on a Chinese microblogging site last week.
However, it appears that the effort failed. As of May 31, it appears that F9 experienced an 85% decrease at Chinese box offices in just its second week as an apparent result of Cena’s gaffe.
China Box Office: ‘F9’ Falls 85 Percent Amid Weak Reviews, John Cena Controversy https://t.co/G1Tx4aIuY3
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 31, 2021
Putting that in dollars and cents, the movie took in roughly $136 million its opening weekend and only managed to earn slightly more than $20 million last weekend. Film industry experts expect the film to earn about $211 million overall in China, a figure roughly half that of the 2017 blockbuster, “The Fate of the Furious.”
Perhaps it’s best for Cena to stick to talking about his movies and not geography — at least when dealing with communist China and their thin-skinned attitude about any perceived slights.
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