The release of the year-end Chinese box office numbers has become an exercise in self-congratulation, as the Middle Kingdom has celebrated astronomical increases – like last year’s 49 percent – in its annual gross, putting it on an accelerating pace to catch the U.S. as the world’s largest movie market. This year, however, will be different and the scores of Hollywood superheroes who graced China’s silver screens in 2016 couldn’t swoop in to save the day.