I know China is going through a horrid spell: The property market is spooked; youth unemployment is so scarily high that no one really knows what’s around the corner; Joe Biden called the Belt and Road Initiative the “debt and noose” program. Even so, why have the country’s moviegoers shelled out more than $91 million — so far — to see Meg 2: The Trench, the cliche-filled, misogynistic, Jason Statham vs. computer-generated dino-shark cringefest? And a sequel to boot. At China’s average ticket price of roughly $5, that means more than 18 million people have paid to watch Meg 2. They’re giving escapism a bad name.

For perspective, in China, Barbie is no Meg. The billion-dollar worldwide summer champion since it opened on July 21, the thinking doll’s film has taken in only about $30 million total in China. Meg 2 wasn’t even the top movie in the People’s Republic this past weekend (it was third after action saga No More Bets and Creation of the Gods, an animated retelling of ancient myths), more evidence of the monstrous size of that market. Over Friday through Saturday, No More Bets made more money in China than Barbie did globally.

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