Star Wars: The Force Awakens is "falling faster than expected in China" after opening well in the world's second-biggest film market on January 8, and is not expected to outgross other such Hollywood imports as Furious 7, the Transformers sequels, and, yes, Avatar -- meaning the J.J. Abrams-directed film's shot at toppling James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster as the No. 1 movie of all time worldwide is not possible.

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According to Forbes , The Force Awakens' "speculative $150 million finish would be a larger Chinese total than Spectre ($83m), Terminator Genisys ($112m), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ($121m), Iron Man 3 ($121m), and Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation ($136m). But if that over/under $150m total plays out (and of course this isn’t set in stone), it’ll have earned noticeably less than Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($165m), Avatar ($209m), Jurassic World ($228m), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($240m), Transformers: Age of Extinction ($320m), and Furious 7 ($390m)."So what happened? Simply put, Star Wars just doesn't mean as much to the Chinese as it does to Western audiences who grew up with the saga. China is relatively new to the Star Wars mythos. Indeed, for many in China, The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars film they've ever seen -- and that new generation of filmgoers reportedly wasn't especially enamored with this tale set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."Perhaps what should be most disconcerting to Disney are reports that younger moviegoers in third- and fourth-tier cities, the demographic fueling China’s booming box office and the target of Disney’s marketing bonanza—the foundation for its future success in the country—were confused by the plot and even heard snoring during screenings," reports China Film Insider No one is saying The Force Awakens is not a monster success, of course, but the idea that the film would dominate in China as powerfully as it has in America was ultimately wishful thinking.Star Wars: The Force Awakens has earned over $800 million domestically, making it the No. 1 movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation) at the North American box office . It currently sits in third place at the all-time worldwide box office behind Titanic and Avatar.