Hong Kong-produced crime thriller “Detective Vs Sleuths” once again took top prizes at the box office in mainland China with a total of $14.2 million in the weekend. The film was in its second weekend at the top and its third week of release.
Consulting firm Artisan Gateway reports that the film has now advanced to a 17-day cumulative score of $85.3 million (580 million CNY).
Starlighting, which enjoyed three weekends at the top of the chart before plummeting to number three, bounced back to second. It grossed $11.6 million (CNY 79.2 million) over the last weekend, bringing a total of $231 million (1.57 billion CNY) since its release on June 24.
Last week’s second opener “Mozart From Space” flipped to third. He earned $6.4 million (48.3 million CNY), for a cumulative 10-day period of $29.1 million (198 million CNY).
“Jurassic World: Dominion” added $2.6 million (17.4 million CNY) for a cumulative $153 million (1.04 billion CNY) over about six weeks. This makes it the biggest imported movie of the year in China, but only ranks as the 30th best Hollywood movie of all time on the market.
The weekend’s hottest new release, “Love Can’t Be Said” opened at number five with $2.2 million (14.7 million CNY). Another youthful love story, the movie is being distributed by Y HY Media.
Nationally, the grand total fell to $40.6 million, from $57 million the previous weekend. Artisan Gateway reports year-to-date box office gross of $2.86 billion. This is 35% less than the same point last year.
China continues to be affected by tiered control measures as cities and counties are forced to respond to new outbreaks of COVID. These may hinder the recovery of the box office.
The lack of new release titles is just as important as a drawback. The impact of coronavirus uncertainty on domestic movie releases and the currently limited number of movie imports means there are few signs that cinemas have made a major breakthrough beyond recent levels.
Midsummer in China is often seen as a “blackout period” or “national film support month” when new Hollywood releases are sidelined. The pre-sale indicates that the sci-fi comedy “Moonman” may be a chart-topping when it’s released on Friday. Two small US titles – “The Lost City” and “My Little Pony: A New Generation” – are set to be released next weekend.
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