“Coco,” a movie about a Mexican boy who longs to be a musician, is more popular in China than in Mexico’s neighbor, the United States. The reason may be China’s respect for the dead.
“Coco” has grossed $154 million in China over four weekends, compared to $150.7 million in the U.S. “Coco” is by far Pixar’s biggest hit ever in China, nearly quadrupling the $38 million made by “Finding Dory” last year.
China may be thousands of miles away from Mexico, but the film’s embrace of Mexico’s Dia de Muertos and honoring the dead have resonated with Chinese audiences who have similar traditions, said Stanley Rosen, a political science professor at USC’s US-China Institute.