|
 Based on a Chinese folk story,
the film has provoked a backlash in the
Chinese-ruled city and elsewhere over its star's
comments of support for Hong Kong police during
protests last year and for being partly filmed
in the Xinjiang region.
"I will not watch Mulan because of its cast and
filming location," said 24-year-old clerk Cherry
Lee as she passed by the Mong Kok Broadway
Theatre screening the film.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong and internet
users in Taiwan and Thailand have been among
those promoting hashtags "#BoycottMulan" and "#BanMulan"
on Twitter, following this month's launch of the
film on Disney's streaming platform.
Most Hong Kong cinemas had their first showing
of Mulan on Thursday morning.
At Mong Kok Broadway Theatre, in a popular
protest area, Mulan sold one third of the
tickets at its debut according to frontdesk
staff, around 20% fewer than local movie "i'm
livin' it" by Hing Fan Wong, which debuted at
the same time.
"I’ve known the story of Mulan since I was
little," said retiree Chan, as he entered the
cinema. He declined to give his first name to
avoid getting involved in the controversy.
At Festival Grand Cinema in another district,
Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet', which debuted in
Hong Kong on Sept. 20, sold more tickets on
Thursday morning than Mulan, staff said.
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|
 Disney did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Mulan also had a cold reception in mainland
China, where Chinese authorities had told major
media outlets not to cover the film's release in
the wake of the uproar.
Internationally, the criticism has focused on
the movie being partly filmed in Xinjiang, where
China's clamp-down on ethnic Uighurs and other
Muslims has been criticised by some governments
and rights groups.
In Hong Kong, the star of the movie, mainland
Chinese-born actress Liu Yifei, has angered
democracy supporters after showing support for
Hong Kong police in a social media post last
year.
Retiree Kwok, 65, who declined to give his first
name, said he liked the movie because it
represented values such as "safeguarding the
country and helping families" at a time when
China was being "suppressed by the United
States."
"Lui Yifei represents Mulan well, she is very
brave and willing to fight against evil," Kwok
said.
(Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Michael
Perry)
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