Headlines From China: ‘Detective Chinatown 2’ Defeats “Monster Hunt 2” On Day 3 Of Chinese New Year

“Detective Chinatown 2” Defeats “Monster Hunt 2” On Day 3 Of Chinese New Year

The first three days of Chinese New Year saw box office earnings reach an accumulated 3.21 billion yuan ($501 million) with the weekend box office earnings totaling at over 500 million, breaking the record for highest weekend box office in a single market. Detective Chinatown 2 overtook Monster Hunt 2 as the box office winner on the third day of Chinese New Year. Action film Red Sea Operation followed right behind in third place, bringing in 179 million yuan ($28 million) on Feb. 18; the film is also highly rated on review sites, with a rating of 7.4/10 on Mtime. Monkey King 3 and Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink each gained about 60 million yuan ($9.3 million) Read more on Mtime

How “Detective Chinatown 2” Wins Chinese New Year Race

Detective Chinatown 2 has reached the 1 billion yuan ($156.3 million) mark in box office earnings four days after its opening and is projected to triple or even quadruple the amount. Not only that, the film is also highly rated on multiple review sites, beating most other Chinese New Year films. Written and directed by Chen Sicheng, the suspension comedy is the first of its kind, and sets the stage for domestic suspension films. Chen, skilled at bringing the best out of each actor, also believes that China needs its own original IP films. The Detective Chinatown sequel might be part of the next big Chinese IP series. Read more on zhipianrenneican

“Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink” Opens To A Record $11.8M with Enlight Media’s Promotion

Released on the first day of Chinese New Year, domestic animation film Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink opened to 75.4 million yuan ($11.8 million), the highest among Chinese animation films. Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink is the fifth installment in the Boonie Bears franchise, and different from the previous years, Enlight Media replaced Leshi as the film’s promotional and distribution partner, and marketed it as a family friendly and all ages film instead of focusing on a particular age group. In the latest film, the story follows a Vick and two bears who embark on a new adventure after being shrunk. Read more on D-entertainment

Most Influential Artists In China

Entgroup published an influence index based on an artist’s following, media attention, and other factors. Pop singer Faye Wong ranked first with a score of 99.4, while singer Na Ying took third place; the two sang a duet at the 2018 Chinese New Year Gala, 20 years after their first collaboration at the 1998 Chinese New Year Gala. Actress and fashion icon Yang Mi ranked second, and Monkey King 3’s Zhao Liying ranked 4th. Liu Haoran and Wang Baoqiang were in fifth and sixth places respectively. Read more on entgroup.cn