xXx Marks The Spot

A local marketing blitz by Paramount partner/investor Huahua Media, and an international cast featuring popular personalities Kris Wu, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, and Vin Diesel propelled xXx: The Return of Xander Cage to an impressive opening on Friday with estimated RMB 129.4 million ($20.3M), excluding service fees from third-party ticketing apps.

With a debut nearly three times the size of its North American opening on Friday, January 20, the single day total makes China the film’s highest grossing international territory by far—Russia places a distant second with $9.6 million through last weekend.

It is also the biggest opening in China for an imported Hollywood film since last June’s Warcraft (RMB 301 million).

Unsurprisingly, preliminary data from Friday screenings indicates the audience for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is predominately young men; male ticket buyers outnumbered females nearly 3 to 1.

It remains to be seen whether this demographic breakdown will hurt ticket sales on Valentine’s Day, typically a date-night, ladies’ choice moviegoing holiday, dominated this year by the opening of La La Land—or if it can hold its own as a smart counterprogramming option.

Given its robust opening day haul and strong word of mouth, xXx should continue to play well in lower-tier Chinese cities, with a shot at grossing RMB 1 billion ($145 million) by the end of its run.