A handful of films proved their mettle during what was a very quiet weekend at the mainland Chinese box office.
Chinese crime film “Go for Broke” (also known as “Chong Sheng”) grossed 35.4 million yuan ($5.0 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consulting firm Artisan Gateway. That lifted the film to the top spot in its fourth weekend, bringing its total to $53.4 million.
“Romulus,” which had topped the chart for three weeks prior, dropped to second place. The film grossed $4.5 million, becoming the second Hollywood import this year to gross more than $100 million in Chinese theaters (after “Godzilla x Kong”).
The comedy-drama “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” has seen its box office decline from week to week, but its ranking has improved. The film has grossed 18 million yuan ($2.5 million) in third place, compared with $3.3 million and fifth place the previous week. Since its release in China on Aug. 23, the film has grossed 105 million yuan ($14.8 million).
Chinese thriller drama “Caliph” has climbed to fourth place in its ninth week of release, after topping the box office for five weeks. The film has grossed 17.6 million yuan ($2.4 million) for a total of $464 million since hitting theaters on July 16.
Chinese crime film “Untouchable” grossed $1.7 million in its third weekend. The film, directed by Wang Daqing and starring Shen Ting, Zhang Yuqi and Jack Cao, has grossed $23.2 million since its August 23 release.
The final weekend's domestic total was $24.4 million, the second-lowest opening weekend of 2024. While seasonality is an obvious factor — September is often a quiet month at the Chinese box office as the summer season winds down and distributors reserve their more commercial titles for release around Oct. 1 or the National Day holidays — the downward trend is nonetheless steep.
Artisan Gateway estimates total revenue to date at $4.75 billion, more than 22% lower than the same period last year. It said August box office revenue was $568 million, down 48% year-over-year but still the third-highest month of 2024. The summer season (counted from June 1 to August 31) at 11.6 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) was the worst in a decade, excluding the three Covid years of 2020-2022.
The dearth of new releases was evident. Local sources credit the Thai-Chinese animated film “Out of the Nest,” which grossed $250,000, as the top new film.
