The Art-House title “Return to Dust” was a surprise winner this weekend, topping the box office in mainland China in the ninth weekend of its release.
The astonishing feat occurred on an otherwise dreary weekend, as Chinese cinema’s box office dropped to its lowest level in three months. This reflected the end of the summer season, and anti-coronavirus measures once again forced major Chinese cities to retreat.
Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed a total “return” of $5.3 million (36.2 million Chinese yuan) between Friday and Sunday. Those three days made up nearly half of the cumulative total of $12.7 million (CNY 87.4 million) it has earned since its release on July 8, 2022.
Directed by Li Ruijun, the film tells the story of two middle-aged adults who agree to an arranged marriage in a rural town where demolition is being ordered by the state. It was first shown in competition at the Berlin Festival in February of this year and was subsequently shown at the Udine and Hong Kong festivals.
“The launch of ‘Return to Dust’s’ live stream may have heightened awareness of the film which catapulted it to number one in its ninth week,” Artisan Gateway said.
The lack of significant competition may also have helped. No new release title broke through the top five on the chart.
The nationwide box office over the weekend was just $22.7 million, the fifth consecutive weekend of decline and a small portion of the $144 million when “Moon Man” was released on July 29.
China continues to fight COVID in a way that disrupts normal life – using compulsory testing, mass quarantines and lockdowns – so the discovery of new disease clusters in Chengdu and Shenzhen has hit huge cities and movie audiences. One researcher estimated this weekend that places that account for 35% of China’s GDP are now subject to some form of COVID restrictions.
In the cinema, the domestic animation “New Gods: Yang Jian” took second place with a total of 5.1 million dollars at the end of the week (35.1 million yuan). This gives it a cumulative amount of $54.3 million (CNY 375 million) since its issuance on August 19, 2022.
Moon Man took third place with $5.0 million, giving it a cumulative six weeks of $426 million (CNY2.94 million).
Minions: The Rise of Gru grossed $2.6 million (CNY 17.9 million) in its third weekend at the Chinese box office. Its cumulative total is now $29.7 million (205 million CNY).
The sci-fi fantasy film “Future Warriors” from Hong Kong took 17.7 million yuan in fifth place. Its turnover is $93.5 million (645 million CNY) since its launch five weeks ago on August 5, 2022.
Artisan Gateway counts the China box office to date at $3.57 billion when expressed in US dollars. This figure is lower than the previous week, which reflects the weakness of the Chinese currency against the dollar.
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