China Box Office: ‘Transformers One’ Takes Top Spot on Quietest Weekend of the Year

As a long-time movie enthusiast who has witnessed the evolution of Chinese cinema, I must say that the box office landscape over the past weekend was quite intriguing. The dominance of “Transformers One” is no surprise given its popularity, especially considering it’s an animated spin-off from a franchise that has captivated audiences in the Middle Kingdom for years.


In its initial weekend in China, “Transformers One” claimed the number one spot at the box office. Being the only significant release on an unusual Friday before the National Day holiday season, this also meant that the subsequent three-day period had the lowest earnings of any weekend so far for Chinese cinemas on the mainland.

Just a week following its North American premiere, the animated spin-off “Transformers One,” that has been highly successful in China due to the popularity of the “Transformers” series, grossed approximately 4.9 million dollars, as reported by Artisan Gateway. When previews are included, the film concluded its first weekend in China with a total earnings of around 8 million dollars.

Coming in second place is the drama film “Like a Rolling Stone,” which revolves around a 50-year-old woman who chooses to take control of her life and embarks on a road trip. This film has generated RMB15.2 million ($2.3 million) in earnings, bringing its total 15-day gross to $15.6 million.

Originally sitting at the top spot, the film “Stand by Me” – a tale about two children who have lost their families and support each other during their teenage years – has dropped to third place. Since its release on September 13th, it has earned approximately $1.8 million, bringing its total earnings to around $33 million. The movie features Karry Wang, the frontman of the renowned TFBoys boy band.

In the latest box office rankings, “Alien: Romulus” made a comeback in the top five, pushing “The Wild Robot”, a more recent addition, out of the list. “Alien: Romulus” grossed $1.1 million, bringing its total earnings since its Aug. 16 release to an impressive $131 million.

The title “Go for Broke” resurfaced and has now amassed a total of $65.2 million, with an additional $1.0 million earned, following its release on August 16th.

Artisan Gateway indicates that the overall weekend box office earnings across the country were only $16.1 million. This brings the total for the year so far to $4.88 billion, which is about 23% lower than what it was at this same point last year.

Significant hopes are now placed on the National Day titles that launch (unusually) on weekdays.

On Monday, it’s “The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death” by Chen Kaige that will premiere, marking the second installment of his war trilogy.

On October 1st, the following films will be added to the lineup: “The Hutong Cowboy,” a comedy-drama by Ning Hao and Xu Lei; Lu Chuan’s sci-fi monster film, “Bureau 749”; Liu Jiangjiang’s disaster drama, “Give You A Candy”; Oxide Pang’s action thriller, “High Forces”; Wu Bai’s crime movie, “Tiger Wolf Rabbit”; Zhang Luan’s action-comedy featuring Jackie Chan, “Panda Plan”; the Chinese animation, “New Happy Dad and Son 6: Shrunk”; and “A Tapestry of a Legendary Land,” an adaptation from a stage production.

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2024-09-30 08:16