10 Ways Successful Movies Had Their Reputations Ruined
7. Mulan
Disney has been hard at work creating live-action versions of its beloved classics, and like it or not; the studio isn't going to stop anytime soon. 2020 saw the release of the live-action version of Mulan, and the movie garnered a bad reputation before anyone had a chance to see it.
This was due to two main issues: Disney filmed several scenes in the Xinjiang region of China, the location of Uighur concentration camps, and the film's star, Yifei Liu, publicly sided with Hong Kong police over pro-democracy protesters. These two issues brought nothing but negative attention to the film, which saw #BoycotMulan trending before its release.
In terms of whether or not the movie was successful, it likely was. The negative attention pushed Disney+ subscribers to watch it, and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it still managed to take in $70 million at the box office.
Disney doesn't publish its numbers for Disney+, but it's likely the movie was successful despite the negativity surrounding it. Regardless, the film was a critical success too and holds a 74% "Fresh" rating on RottenTomatoes. Ultimately, time will tell if Mulan builds a following moving forward, but its bad rep is unlikely to fade.