China Hits Highest Single-Day Ticket Sales of the Year, Notching Its Second-Biggest National Day Earnings Ever

China is officially home to the world's biggest movie box office. Movie ticket sales in China for 2020 climbed to $1.988 billion on Sunday, surpassing North America's total of $1.937 billion, according to data from Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s year-to-date box office came within a whisker of $2 billion on Sunday, with the latest weekend adding $46.4 million to the running total.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBBC Studios has inked a “multi-year” co-production and content sales deal with Chinese entertainment platform Bilibili, which aims to bring UK content to China and Chinese programming to the world.Under the agreement, Bilibili has already committed to co-producing BBC Studios’ landmark natural history shows The Green Planet, Dynasties II and The Mating Game. A new science series is also on the agenda, titled Odyssey into the Future and featuring Chinese author

Rebecca Davis editorThe competition section of China’s Pingyao Intl. Film Festival on Friday awarded top prizes to Russia’s Philipp Yuryev, Serbia’s Ivan Ilkic, and Chinese directors Li Dongmei and Wang Jing.

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmEXCLUSIVE: MTV Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to 76 Days, a raw and emotional look at the struggles of the people of Wuhan, China, in the earliest days of the COVID-19 outbreak. Directed by New York filmmaker Hao Wu (People’s Republic of Desire) and China-based journalists, Weixi Chen and “Anonymous,” 76 DAYS made its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorRefresh for latest…: China’s National Day holiday officially ended last Thursday, with takings for the October 1-8 period at an estimated RMB 3.95B ($589M) as the market continues to close the 2020 gap with domestic. This weekend saw continued play for the key titles, led by patriotic pic My People My Homeland which added another $42M (-65% for the FSS) to bring the local cume to about $321M.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorThursday marked the end of the Chinese National Day holiday with the world’s second largest box office market significantly tightening the gap between its turnstiles and those of North America. Takings for the period are estimated at RMB 3.95B ($589M).

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorScreen Media has acquired all North American rights to the Simon West-directed Skyfire.

Dave McNary Film ReporterScreen Media has bought all North American rights to “Skyfire,” China’s first big-budget disaster movie, from Highland Film Group and plans to release the film in theaters and on demand in December.“Skyfire” is directed by Simon West and stars Jason Isaacs (“Hotel Mumbai”), Hannah Quinlivan (“Skyscraper”), Xueqi Wang (“Iron Man 3”) and Shawn Dou (“Wolf Totem”).

Rebecca Davis editorRepublican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee on Wednesday slammed Netflix for defending its decision to greenlight a high-profile adaptation of the Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin’s “Three-Body Problem” novels despite his “execrable views” on China’s treatment of its mostly Muslim Uyghur population.Netflix announced early last month that it had commissioned “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B.

Rebecca Davis editorThe China box office bounced back this weekend to its pre-pandemic levels, figures from its National Day holiday weekend show — proving that the right mix of competitive new local titles can entice viewers in, what this year is very much on track to be, the world’s largest movie market.The news comes as other major markets flounder, with Regal Cinemas owner Cineworld Group announcing the temporary suspension of its U.S. and U.K.

As North America's box office crumples, China's theatrical film business is back in an enormous way. A collection of high-profile local films released in China over the past week to coincide with the country's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period, which lasts eight days.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorRefresh for latest…: Christopher Nolan’s Tenet dipped a slight 29% at the international box office this weekend to add $11.5M from 57 markets. Offshore, the Warner Bros release has now grossed $262M.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorA lucrative period for Chinese cinemas, the National Day holiday officially got underway today with the release of Jiang Ziya: Legend Of Deification. The highly-anticipated follow-up to 2019 smash Ne Zha set a new single-day record for animation in the Middle Kingdom with an estimated RMB 359M ($53M).

Rebecca Davis editorWith U.S. studio tentpoles dropping out of the theatrical calendar, Chinese blockbusters may find a rare opportunity to gain some traction abroad.