‘1917’ Leads Charge On China’s 3rd Friday Back To The Movies – International Box Office

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese romance film “Love You Forever” earned a stunning $38.3 million on Tuesday, its opening day in mainland China cinemas. That figure is the highest single day score achieved by any film worldwide in 2020.The film tells the story of a man who is able to go back in time to save the tragically-shortened life of his young lover, but his ability comes with a heavy price.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAfter jockeying release dates imposed by the uncertainty of the coronavirus evolution, Tenet time is finally here. Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending Tenet will be released by Warner Bros overseas beginning Wednesday in such markets as the UK, Korea, France, Germany, Australia, Italy and Spain.

IMAX theatres at the Chinese box office continues to exceed our expectations and reinforces our belief that audiences are eager to return to theatres where local guidelines allow,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX in a statement.

The box office blockbuster has returned. Over the weekend, the Chinese war epic The Eight Hundred opened to an estimated $107 million in China, including previews.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAfter pulling in $33.5M across five days of previews at the Chinese box office, local war epic The Eight Hundred overwhelmingly stormed theaters today, its first official day of release. Adding roughly $20M across the country on Friday — the biggest single-day box office since cinemas resumed operations — the Middle Kingdom cume is now north of $53M.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese war film, “The Eight Hundred” achieved a cumulative box office score of more than $40 million by late afternoon on its opening day, Friday.By 5pm local time, the film had notched up RMB62.7 million or $9.04 million, according to data from China Box Office and Ent Group. That added to $31.8 million of previews earned on Friday last week and the days between Monday and Wednesday this week.The film enjoyed an 86% market share.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorEXCLUSIVE: As the rolling process of cinema reopenings continues across various markets, IMAX has recently enjoyed strong grosses with local-language movies in Asia as well as the reissue of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar in China. This week in the Middle Kingdom, it’s set to have a particularly vibrant frame with war epic The Eight Hundred.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChina was the big breakout this past weekend, leading the international box office for the fourth frame in a row and powered by the reissue of Warner Bros’ Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone in a 4K 3D restoration that conjured $13.6M on 16,000 screens over the three-day frame.

Rebecca Rubin News Editor, OnlineYou’re in the billion-dollar club, Harry.Two decades after it was released in theaters, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorIt’s not so much mischief managed as it’s magic managed: Warner Bros’ reissue of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone has become the second film in the franchise to cross $1B worldwide. The film, originally released in 2001, counts a global cume of $1,001,260,000 after debuting in a remastered 4K 3D version in China this weekend.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorHarry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone worked some magic in China on Friday with Warner Bros’ 3D reissue conjuring $4.6M. This is by far the biggesst single-day gross since cinemas resumed operations, overtaking the opening of WB’s earlier re-release of Chirstopher Nolan’s Interstellar by 66% (though that film bowed on a Sunday).

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorThere was further good news from the international box office this weekend, even as it continues to be clear that markets need fresh titles to keep the reopening momentum going — be they local, from Hollywood or even reissues of older event pictures.We remain in uncharted waters around the globe.

Sam Mendes' harrowing World War I movie 1917 debuted at the top of China's box office this weekend, as the country's theatrical business still deals with pandemic-related restrictions on operations. China's cinemas are now into their third week of reopening after a novel coronavirus enforced lockdown in January, and theatrical companies are operating with limits on the number of screens and with strict social distancing measures in place.

Rebecca Davis editorSam Mendes’ World War I saga “1917” took the top spot at China’s box office this weekend with a $5.3 million debut, according to data from industry tracker Maoyan, as overall nationwide ticket sales dipped down from the week before.Meanwhile, the China premiere of the 20th Century Fox’s racing drama “Ford V. Ferrari” flopped and came in fifth with just $1.2 million.

After weeks of “will they or won’t they?” it appears that Warner Bros. is going to stick firm to its plan to release “Tenet” in a staggered strategy around the world.

Rebecca Rubin News Editor, OnlineChristopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic “Tenet” will launch in Chinese theaters on Sept. 4.The movie, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, is expected to be the first major Hollywood release since the pandemic forced cinemas to close in the country starting in January.The studio got approval last week to debut “Tenet” in China, signaling a reversal in reopening guideline from the National Film Bureau.

It has been a long wait for Christoper Nolan but it seems like TENET is finally going to debut on the big screen. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has delayed the release of TENET across the world but the film is going ahead with international releases in countries that are safe for theatres to reopen.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorWhile Universal’s Dolittle and Warner Bros’ reissue of Interstellar were the big kahunas in China this weekend, Russell Crowe-starrer Unhinged hit the road in 19 new markets over the session. Among them, the UK, Australia, Netherlands and New Zealand where the Solstice Studios pic was No.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorSATURDAY UPDATE: Since cinemas reopened in China’s low-risk areas on July 20, the market today had its biggest day yet. Box office was $5.74M (RMB 40M) overall for the day, according to Maoyan figures.

Rebecca Davis editorA portion of Chinese cinemas have been ordered to program an intermission for films that exceed two hours as a coronavirus prevention measure, Chinese reports said Friday. The requirement will affect a number of upcoming Hollywood films that run over 120 minutes, including a re-run of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” set to hit screens on Sunday, as well as “Ford V Ferrari,” which will Aug.