As a seasoned movie critic with over three decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen the ebb and flow of cinema industries across the globe. And let me tell you, the current state of China‘s box office is giving me deja vu of the late 90s in Hollywood – only instead of a surplus of floppy disc sequels, we have an oversaturation of local dramas.
The Chinese-made movie titled “Stand by Me” maintained its number one position at the Chinese box office. Meanwhile, Dreamworks Animation’s film, “The Wild Robot,” had a relatively successful opening in third place.
Following a subtle boost given a week ago during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the theatrical industry in mainland China continued to struggle, as it has been since the second quarter.
Over the past weekend, movie earnings in a nation with approximately 1.3 billion residents – home to around 90,000 active cinema screens – totaled $25.1 million. This data comes from Artisan Gateway, a consulting firm. Interestingly, this figure ranks as the third lowest weekend gross for the year so far.
During the four days from September 14 to 17, the box office earnings for the Mid-Autumn Festival amounted to approximately RMB389 million ($55.2 million) as per data from the National Film Administration. This figure is less than half of the RMB803 million recorded during the same period in 2019. Chinese films held an impressive 85% share of the market. Interestingly, this decline occurred despite a record-breaking number of screenings, approximately 1.36 million sessions.
Over the past weekend, the movie “Stand by Me,” about two children who are orphaned or abandoned and help each other as teenagers, earned RMB38.2 million ($5.4 million) in its second week of release. This brings its total earnings to $29.2 million since it was released on Sept. 13. The film stars Karry Wang, the leader of the well-known TFBoys boy band.
In the second spot, “Like a Rolling Stone,” a dramatic film centered around a 50-year-old woman who chooses to take control of her life and embarks on a road trip, grossed RMB26.3 million ($3.7 million). This brings its eight-day total earnings to $11.2 million.
Initially earning approximately RMB22.7 million ($3.2 million), the movie “The Wild Robot” has since garnered an additional $1.5 million during previews, bringing its total to around $3.7 million.
In the fourth spot, ‘A Frozen Rage,’ a crime comedy-drama focusing on social justice, has made $2.6 million. After just a week with its release on Sunday, it has amassed a total of $10.9 million over eight days.
The drama movie titled “Enjoy Yourself,” which centers around the contentious issue of human embryo ownership between former spouses, placed fifth. To date, it has generated $1.8 million in revenue, bringing its total earnings since its release on September 15 to $6.8 million.
Artisan Gateway has reported that so far this year, the total box office earnings have reached approximately $4.86 billion. This figure represents a significant drop of over 22% compared to the box office trends from last year.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll likely see if Chinese box offices can bounce back, as “Transformers One” is currently the only significant film releasing traditionally during this period. However, it will have a limited time to thrive, as it’s expected to cede screens to an influx of Chinese productions that are holding their releases to capitalize on the National Day holiday audience.
On Monday, September 30th, I’ll be immersing myself in the gripping tale that is “The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death,” the first installment in Chen Kaige’s epic war trilogy. I can hardly wait!
On the first day of October (Tuesday), the following films will be added: “The Hutong Cowboy,” a comedy-drama directed by Ning Hao and Xu Lei; “Bureau 749,” a sci-fi monster film by Lu Chuan; “Give You A Candy,” a disaster drama by Liu Jiangjiang; Oxide Pang’s action thriller titled “High Forces”; Wu Bai’s crime movie called “Tiger Wolf Rabbit”; Zhang Luan’s action-comedy “Panda Plan” starring Jackie Cha; the Chinese animated film “New Happy Dad and Son 6: Shrunk”; and “A Tapestry of a Legendary Land,” an adaptation from a stage production.
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2024-09-23 08:16