China Is World’s First Market to Achieve Full Box Office Recovery, Says Analytics Firm

Disney's Mulan malfunctioned in its China box office debut with a disheartening $23.2 million. The $200 million tentpole was made with both Chinese and American audiences top of mind.

Rebecca Davis editorDisney’s “Mulan” opened in China this weekend with disappointing figures of just $23 million, far from the slam dunk it had hoped for in a critical territory.While it still was the highest grosser of the weekend, it came in just a hair above the local historical epic “The Eight Hundred,” which grossed $21.7 million, according to data from the Maoyan industry tracker.Industry players say that Disney may have chosen to put aside the levity and musical numbers of the original

recently reopened Orange County, furthering the trend of closure-adjacent markets getting a boost from residents in cities like Los Angeles and New York driving further to see a film.More to come…

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorRefresh for latest…: Disney’s Mulan ultimately settled for a $23.2M three-day opening in China, including previews. This is about where we saw it landing yesterday after downgrading projections for the Middle Kingdom launch.

has sells subscriptions to Disney’s news streaming service, Disney+.Only customers in China and a handful of other Asian countries are being given the chance to see the flick on the big screen. Everyone else must pay $30 or wait until Dec.

Disney's Mulan is off to a low-key start at China's theatrical box office, a market where it was once expected to be a sure-fire blockbuster. Mulan had pulled in just $4.4 million (30 million RMB) as of 5 p.m., Beijing time, Friday, according to data from local box office tracker Artisan Gateway.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorMulan, Disney’s live-action update on its 1998 animated classic grossed an estimated RMB 52.5M ($8.26M) on its opening Friday in China. The figure includes midnights, and portends a three-day weekend around $26M.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDisney’s Chinese-themed “Mulan” got off to a soft start on its debut in mainland China theaters on Friday.By 7pm on opening day, the Niki Caro-directed film had clocked up $6.23 million (RMB42.6 million), according to data from film ticketing agency Maoyan.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorRefresh for latest…: Christopher Nolan’s Tenet added a further estimated $58.1M at the international box office this weekend, taking the overseas cume on the Warner Bros title to $126M after two sessions. With the time-bending film debuting in the U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorChristopher Nolan’s “Tenet” has been hailed by the Western film industry as a savior of the in-person theatrical experience around the world, but this weekend in China it lost out repeatedly to the local savior of Chinese cinema, Huayi Brothers’ war film “The Eight Hundred.” The Chinese title bested “Tenet” each day of its three-day debut weekend.

Nancy Tartaglione, Anthony D'Alessandro Christopher Nolan’s Tenet launched in the Middle Kingdom on Friday grossing RMB 62.3M, which included previews, translating into a $9.2M take. Pic’s day, at $8.6M, bested local epic The Eight Hundred which is estimated to have grossed $8.2M for a running total of $323.9M.It’s not certain yet if Tenet will best Eight Hundred for the top spot at China’s weekend box office.

For years, box office analysts have been predicting when China would surpass North America as the world’s largest theatrical film market. In 2015, when movie ticket sales in the Middle Kingdom grew an astonishing 49 percent, the country's ascendance was thought to be just one or two years away.

China's blockbuster war epic The Eight Hundred earned a healthy $69 million during its second weekend on Chinese screens, retaining the global box office crown over Christopher Nolan's Tenet. Tenet brought in $53 million-plus from 41 international markets, including Canada, according to Warner Bros.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese war film, “The Eight Hundred” was the highest scoring film in the world over the weekend.According to data from Artisan Gateway, “The Eight Hundred” grossed $69 million between Friday and Sunday, its second weekend on release in China.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChristopher Nolan’s Tenet has begun its offshore rollout, and while Warner Bros is keeping a tight lid on grosses until fully reporting Sunday, some international box office information is available on the highly-anticipated title.In Korea, one of the key plays on Tenet, the Wednesday opening day was a little over $827K from 2,228 screens.

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.

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.