Box Office
China Box Office: Dog Bites Wolverine
A Dog’s Purpose became the first Hollywood import since last year’s breakout, Zootopia to improve upon its opening weekend earnings the second time around. Boosted by strong word-of-mouth, it's Chinese Box Office will surpass its North American total ($61.8 million), making it the third Hollywood film in the past month, following xXx: The Return of Xander Cage and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter to claim such a distinction. Read More
On Screen China: ‘Genius’ and ‘Final Fantasy’ Pose No Threat to Reigning Blockbusters
Eight new releases — six domestic and two imported “buy-out” films — feebly enter Chinese cinemas this weekend, with only 'Genius,' starring Jude Law as eccentric author Thomas Wolfe, and 'Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV' securing enough showtimes to make their limited presence felt at the box office. Read More
China Box Office: Eight Is Hollywood’s Lucky Number
Eight Hollywood imports occupied the top eight spots at this weekend’s Chinese box office, a first for a notoriously protective movie industry that recently adopted further measures to ensure that domestic films receive two-thirds of a cinema’s annual screening allotment. Read More
China Box Office: Evil Takes Up Residence, Sets New Precedent
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the sixth and now perhaps no longer “final” — installment in Screen Gems’ action-horror series, exploded in the world’s second largest film market this weekend, grossing a staggering RMB 636.9 million ($92.7 million). Read More
On Screen China: Gamer’s Delight — ‘Resident Evil’ vs. ‘Assassin’s Creed’
“Has the Chinese market become a dumping ground for Hollywood’s trash?” wondered a recent Beijing Daily headline, a question both apt and timely. Last summer’s computer game fantasy adaptation, Warcraft, produced by Dalian Wanda-owned Legendary Pictures, with financing from heavyweights China Film Group, Tencent, and Huayi Brothers, skyrocketed to $220 million to become China’s third highest-grossing Read More
V-Day Box Office: La La, xXx Win ♥♥♥, Earn $$$
xXx and La La Land benefit from a Valentine’s Day box office boom. Chinese moviegoers got in the holiday spirit, pre-booking seats for a Valentine’s Day screening of La La Land in Beijing. (Courtesy Weibo) Date-night at Chinese cineplexes propelled the box office on Valentine’s Day to an estimated RMB 384 million ($55.9 million) in ticket Read More
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 Read More
China’s Lunar New Year Moviegoing Record — How’s That Foam Taste?
The week-long Chinese New Year moviegoing period ended with a record RMB 3.38 billion (US$492.4 million) in ticket sales this year according to official data — a 9.5 percent increase over last year’s record haul — but a close inspection of the numbers reveals the growth to be something short of robust. Read More
China Box Office: A Record Set, A Scandal Brews, and Accounting Rules Change
After three chaotic days of five wide-release Chinese New Year (CNY) films jockeying for the hearts and wallets of Chinese moviegoers, a clearer picture of the holiday’s box office winners and losers has begun to emerge. Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back (西游伏妖篇) Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back (西游伏妖篇), a Read More
‘Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back’ Sets Records
The sequel sets a new single-day mark and looks like it’s going higher. Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back exploded at the Chinese box office on Saturday, the first day of the week-long Lunar New Year Holiday, it scored a single-day record for local language films with RMB 345 million (US$50.2 million) in Read More