The question of when the summer box office season is going to kick into high gear remains unanswered in mainland China – just as it had until recently in plenty of other markets.
Over the latest weekend, Chinese-produced feelgood movie “Moments We Shared” headed the box office chart for a second weekend, but with a significantly weaker performance.
It earned $14.1 million (RMB100 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That compared with $19.9 million a week earlier, when it only played for two days, instead of the usual three. After nine days in cinemas, it has a cumulative of $50.6 million.
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The weekend’s highest opener was “Customs Frontline,” a clumsy action-thriller from Hong Kong’s Herman Yau and starring Nicholas Tse and martial arts ace Brahim Chab (aka Brahim Achabbakhe). It earned $10.4 million in its opening three days.
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“A Quiet Place: Day One” was a close third. It earned $10.1 million.
Released a week earlier, “Inside Out 2” dropped only 15% week-on-week, but slipped from second place to fourth. After ten days in Chinese cinemas, it has a running total of $24.4 million.
“Life Hotel,” a comedy-drama from the Huayi Brothers stable, opened in fifth place with $2.5 million. It charts the surprising course taken by a former street thug after his release from jail. Including previews, the film had a cumulative of $6.5 million at the end of Sunday.
The nationwide weekend box office was worth an aggregate $51.6 million, a fraction ahead of the previous session’s $49 million haul, but lacking the expected summer punch.
China’s box office, which a few months ago was continuing to show year-on-year growth, is now 9% behind that of 2023.
And in the bragging stakes, China has now lost out to the North American (aka ‘domestic’) market. The year-to-date total in China is $3.37 billion according to Artisan Gateway. At Comscore, the North American running total was reported as $3.61 million through this weekend, though that figure also remains significantly behind the same point in 2023.