China Box Office: ‘Alien: Romulus’ Chinese Haul Overtakes North American Total

As a movie enthusiast with over three decades of experiencing the highs and lows of the silver screen, I must say that the current state of the Chinese box office is quite intriguing. The dominance of foreign films like “Alien: Romulus” is reminiscent of the 1980s when Hollywood blockbusters ruled the world. Yet, the resilience of local productions like “Successor” and “A Place Called Silence” speaks volumes about the evolving Chinese film industry.


In the Chinese box office, the movie “Alien: Romulus” secured its third consecutive victory over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Thai comedy titled “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” entered the top five during its second week of screening in China.

However, the successes of imported movies serve as a stark contrast to the less-than-impressive showing of domestic films this summer, which has contributed to a decrease in overall performance.

In the past few days, “Alien: Romulus” raked in approximately RMB63.4 million ($8.9 million) as per data from Artisan Gateway, bringing its overall earnings to a staggering RMB661 million ($93.1 million). Notably, this figure surpasses the $88.8 million the movie has made so far in North America.

This year, the running total for a Hollywood movie in China has reached the second-highest figure, surpassed only by “Godzilla vs. Kong.” This unexpected accomplishment has left many critics amazed. What’s even more surprising is that this feat was achieved in August, a month traditionally known as a ‘blackout period’ or ‘Chinese film promotion month.’ It seems that these restrictions have been abandoned, as Chinese cinemas now eagerly seek out exceptional new content.

As a passionate moviegoer, I’m thrilled to share that the gripping Chinese crime action film “Go for Broke” has leaped from its initial fourth position to a strong second place! The weekend earnings of this captivating flick only dipped by a modest 13% compared to the previous week. This cinematic powerhouse raked in an impressive $6.2 million, bringing its total 17-day gross to a staggering $44.9 million.

During the summer season, the movie “Successor” once again made it to the top five highest-grossing films. With an additional $3.7 million in earnings, its total box office collection now stands impressively at approximately $459 million.

In its second week at the box office, the crime drama “Untouchable” generated $3.7 million, a decrease from its initial earnings of $10.3 million.

The Thai comedy-drama film “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” which was initially not among the top five films, moved up to the fifth position last week. It earned $3.3 million (a decrease from the predicted opening of $4.4 million) and has amassed a total of $10.7 million since its release in China on August 23.

As a cinephile, I’ve just learned that our nationwide weekend box office haul amounted to approximately $40.8 million, marking a ten-week low. This brings the current total to an astounding $4.7 billion, but it’s also important to note that this figure represents a staggering 22% drop compared to the same period last year.

During the period they consider as summer, spanning from June to August, Maoyan – a prominent Chinese film ticket vendor – reports a 44% decrease in sales compared to the same period last year.

2024’s Chinese film market summer box office stood at approximately 11.64 billion yuan, marking a significant drop of around 44% compared to the previous year. This decline was primarily attributed to fewer big-budget movies being produced. Interestingly, despite this decrease, both the total number of films released and those earning over 100 million yuan hit a nearly six-year peak during this season. The surge can be partly attributed to an increase in the release of new domestic productions.

“During this past summer, we saw an extensive variety of homegrown movies along with imported intellectual properties that excelled. Among the new domestic films, you’ll find genres such as comedy, suspense, drama, crime, science fiction, animation, and more. Interestingly, the highest-earning films were both domestic productions: ‘Successor’ and ‘A Place Called Silence,’ amassing a combined box office revenue of approximately RMB1.35 billion.”

“Regarding the latest imported movies, nine films surpassed RMB 100 million during this summer season, more than in 2023 both in terms of quantity and box office earnings. Among these, ‘Alien: Romulus’ earned a greater success in China compared to North America, according to Maoyan.”

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2024-09-02 07:47