I want to understand why this is happening and if indeed this is or isn't an optimal strategy. I made this post here because I was hoping I could get a response that would be able to dig deeper than the vague, common sense one. That's not to say the vague common sense argument is bad (or good) it's just that I don't think the generic form is particularly robust.

Some people might shy away from that and instead see something else or just stay at home and rent a movie.

I just don't think this is sufficient because I agree with it while still being bullish on Chinese imports. The problem is I'm trying to figure out how big of a "niche" market "foreign language films" can hold not if they're conceptually going to turn people off. That's not an attempt to "argue with you" it's an attempt to clarify my initial point. Films predicted to gross something like 2-3 million, 10-20 million, 30 million, etc. strike me as in qualitatively different "niche" buckets.

no barometer

I was basing off my vague sense of that off of the opinion of some American critics. Here's the RT score of the Mermaid. However, this sort of critical acclaim doesn't hold for films like the other two native mega blockbusters. I have a working assumption that really good blockbuster films will be able to find an audience even in different cultural circumstances (e.g. if Cap1 was a great blockbuster I it wouldn't bomb because it was called CA instead of First Avenger even if it might take some hit).

you seem to just want to argue with people

don't be a dick.