Everett Collection
Hollywood movies continue to disappoint as the Chinese summer season takes its own course.
While “Barbie” broke box office records in North America and enjoyed strong success in many international territories, the pink phenomenon only managed fifth place during its opening weekend in China, the world’s second largest film market.
According to consulting firm Artisan Gateway, “Barbie” grossed $8.2 million in its first three days.
Local box office sources show the film was stuck in that position for all three days of the weekend session as the locally produced titles battled for leadership and swapped positions. Somewhat encouragingly, the daily score for “Barbie” was up through Sunday as there were more showings from Chinese cinema operators.
Barbie joins a growing list of Hollywood films that have failed at the box office in mainland China this year. Others include The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones, and Fast X.
Hollywood titles face fewer structural obstacles (import and certification delays) in China than in recent years. Western franchises, however, are seeing fewer and fewer viewers, and this year Chinese and Japanese films have been the most rewarded. This has helped China’s box office rebound to 8% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The box office in mainland China was topped last weekend by Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (the first installment in the Fengshen Trilogy), which grossed US$42.1 million. according to the consulting firm Artisan Gateway. It raised $53.7 million in four days.
Imax reports that Creation of the Gods I grossed $8.6 million in Chinese cinemas in four days. That was more than 16% of the film’s national total.
Despite its top ranking, Creation of the Gods I got off to a shaky start. It launched on Thursday, a day ahead of most new releases in China, took second place on Friday and suffered a reduction in cinema screens in the days that followed. Given the ambitions, the grand total is likely to be a disappointment.
Directed by Wuershan “(Painted Skin”, “Mojin: The Lost Legend”), the “Fengshen Trilogy” was intended to be a grand amalgamation of history, folklore and mythology set more than 3,000 years ago that would be China’s answer to “Lord of the Rings” and “Iron Man”. It managed to enlist the services of Barrie Osborne (“Lord of the Rings”) as production consultant and Bill Kong (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) as executive producer, and at times aimed for a budget of over $400 million for the three films.
A close second at last weekend’s box office was Chang An (aka Chang An 30,000 Miles), a Chinese animated film, which hits theaters its third weekend and grossed $40.6 million. 16 days after its release, Chang An has already raised US$168 million, making it one of the top-grossing Chinese animation titles of all time.
Third place went to “Wonder Family” (aka “Advancing of ZQ”), a live-action fantasy about a man who discovers a financial artifact and the enemies who want it for their own. It made $31.3 million in the first three days. The film is the latest creation from Mahua FunAge, a comedy troupe that has become a consistent producer of hit comedy films including the former Moon Man.
Written and directed by actor Wang Baoqiang (Lost in Thailand, Detective Chinatown), Never Say Never slipped to fourth place with a still respectable $20.6 million over three days. 18 days after publication, the grand total is now $261 million.
Total box office earnings over the weekend were a whopping $168 million, taking the year-to-date total to $4.63 billion. Artisan Gateway estimates that this is about 70% higher than last year.