“Successor,” a Chinese-produced comedy drama about escape from poverty, dominated a big weekend at the Mainland China box office. The session also saw an impressive re-release for Japanese animation “Your Name” and Hollywood action film “Twisters” blown into instant irrelevance.
Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway showed “Successor” earning RMB633 million ($89.1 million) between Friday and Sunday in China. While this represented the film’s official first weekend, “Successor” finished Sunday with a cumulative total of RMB1.55 billion or $219 million.
That is due to two days of wide screenings a weekend earlier that were considered as previews (causing the title to be omitted from Comscore charts a week earlier) and an opportunistic pulling forward of its official release to Tuesday (July 16), allowing it to jump ahead of weaker titles in the market. (Most titles release in China on Friday, but distributors this summer appear to be trying out other days of the week too.)
“Successor” is co-directed by Yan Fei and Peng Damo (“Hello, Mr Billionaire,” “Goodbye, Mr Loser”) and stars Shen Teng, Ma Li, Shi Pengyuan, Sa Rina and Xiao Bochen. Its overseas distributor, CMC Pictures plans to capitalize on the film’s momentum and release it in English-language territories in early August.
“A Place Called Silence,” the top film two weeks ago, held on to second position but dropped 50% in its third week of release. With a weekend score of $16.4 million, it now has a cumulative of $156 million since July 3.
“Your Name,” the Japanese animation film that released in 2016 and previously earned $83 million in China, was brought back for another run. It took third place with a healthy $11.5 million in three days.
“Despicable Me 4” earned $7.3 million in fourth place at the weekend. After releasing two weeks earlier, it now has a cumulative of $32.5 million in China.
“Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf 9,” a Chinese animation film from a long-running franchise that straddles film and TV, opened with $4.6 million. Including advanced screenings, it wrapped Sunday with a $5.4 million cumulative.
Artisan Gateway did not report data for “Twisters,” which enjoyed a release in China that was closely synchronized with its North American and international openings. Other data providers, however, showed the film earning an estimated $1.5 million in its opening three days in China. That contrasted with its $80 million debut in the North American market and global first place ranking.
Comscore reported “Successor” as the world’s number two film over the latest weekend.
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