The Chinese cinema box office has experienced a slowdown ahead of the Lunar New Year, with the lowest weekend revenue in over a year, totaling just $21 million. Despite this, the top titles remain largely unchanged, indicating a lack of new releases in the market.
Box Office Winners
In its sixth weekend of release, the fish-out-of-water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” managed to hold its position at the top of the China box office, earning $8.1 million. This brings its cumulative total to an impressive $171 million since its release on December 29. Following closely behind in second place is the Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll,” which collected a modest $2.9 million. Another Hong Kong-made film, “The Goldfinger,” earned a similar amount, solidifying its hold on third place. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” slipped to fourth place, while “Follow Bear for Adventure” remained in fifth place.
Slow Weekend for Cinemas
Across the nation, cinemas generated a total of $21.2 million, the lowest weekend score since the lifting of highly restrictive anti-COVID measures in December 2022. This decline can be attributed to the dearth of new release titles entering the market. However, this trend is expected to change with the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations, as a wave of new films is set to hit theaters.
Outlook for the Future
The Chinese box office is on track to bounce back, with a total box office revenue of $391 million so far this year, according to Artisan Gateway. As more films are released in anticipation of the Lunar New Year, the cinema industry is poised for a resurgence.
For more information on the market stalls ahead of the Lunar New Year, visit F5mag.com.
Source link: Variety