Headlines from China: ‘Dying to Survive’ Crosses $45.2 Million On Opening Day 

‘Dying to Survive’ Crosses $45.2 M On Opening Day 

Chinese comedy-drama film Dying to Survive opened on July 5 with 51% of screen share. As of 8 p.m. (Beijing Time), the film has earned over 300 million yuan ($45.2 million), which includes ticket revenues from its 4-day preview period. Incubated by Dirty Monkey Films’ “72 Transformations Film Project,” the film strives to make a breakthrough as a Chinese genre film, combining humor with critical social issues. As Dying to Survive opens today, screen shares of Animal World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Incredibles 2 are reduced to 20.1%, 11.1% and 6.8%, respectively. Dying to Survive is expected to dominate the China box office until the July 13 release of Jiang Wen’s Hidden Man. Read more on CineHello.com

TV Host Cui Yongyuan Starts Another Round of Allegations against ‘Unbreakable Spirit’

Chinese TV Host Cui Yongyuan, who previously exposed yin-yang contracts related to historical drama film Unbreakable Spirit, recently started another round of allegations against the film on Chinese social media Weibo. In his posts, Cui described the production team of the film as frauds and presented more details regarding the film’s production costs. Produced by China Film Group, Unbreakable Spirit is directed by Chinese filmmaker Feng Xiao and features an ensemble cast including Bruce Willis, Liu Ye, Adrien Brody and Fang Bing Bing. The film is set to open in Chinese theaters on August 17. Read more on Mtime

Alibaba Pictures and Beijing Culture Stocks Boosted by China’s Latest Blockbuster

Today, Beijing Culture, a distributor and investor of China’s latest box office hit Dying To Survive, has surged by the maximum daily limit on the Shenzhen stock exchange over three consecutive days. Stock price of Alibaba Pictures, another investor of the film, also went up by about 12% by the time of this publication. This is the second time Alibaba Pictures and Beijing Culture collaborate in investing, producing, and distributing a film targeting China’s lucrative summer movie-going season. Last year, the two companies collaborated on box office smash hit Wolf Warrior 2. Read more on entgroup.cn