"La La Land” has found romance in China, earning an impressive $12.5 million on its Valentine’s Day-launch, including previews.
The China opening brings the film’s worldwide box office cume to date to more than $307 million, with $126 million-plus domestically and $181 million internationally through Monday. The Emma Stone-Ryan Gosling musical has passed the worldwide box office total for “Chicago,” which hit $306.8 million.
Gosling and director Damien Chazelle visited Beijing in January to promote the film. China Film Co. released the movie, with Baian Film and Joy Pictures handling local marketing.
Lionsgate executives said during last week’s call with Wall Street analysts that the success of the movie reflects the strength of the Lionsgate brand. Erik Feig, president of the studio’s motion picture group, said that “La La Land” has over-performed in every market, with the studio seeing “overages” resulting from its international output deals.
"La La Land,” a whimsical comedy-drama set in Los Angeles, stars Stone as an aspiring actress and Gosling as a struggling jazz musician who fall in and out of love. The movie, which carries a $30 million budget, swept the Golden Globes with seven trophies, scored a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations, won the top movie award from the Producers Guild of America, and won a Directors Guild of America trophy for Damien Chazelle.