China’s 2nd Friday Back To Cinemas Sees Healthy Jump; Local ‘Enigma’ Leads As ‘Dolittle’ Nears $10M; More Offshore Markets In Action – International Box Office

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorSony and Tencent’s Oscar-nominated A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood has been cleared for China and will open there on Sept. 18.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAlibaba, Chinese e-commerce and entertainment giant, says that  the worst of the economic fallout from the coronavirus is now behind it.

Will Smith encouraged movie-goers to follow the social distancing rules in China in a new safety PSA.

Rebecca Davis editorPeter Chan’s hotly anticipated biographical sports drama “Leap” is set to hit China on Sept. 30, becoming the first of the Chinese New Year blockbusters canceled due to COVID-19 to set a theatrical outing.Local animation “Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification,” which was also originally scheduled to premiere over the lunar new year, will premiere the day after.

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).

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.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChina’s third Friday back to the movies scored a slight increase on last week’s comparable day at $4.38M. It’s short of the $7.6M generated last Sunday which was boosted by Warner Bros’ reissue of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, but still a jump on last Friday, while midweeks were solid.

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.

its statement. The Trump Administration has been weighing whether to ban or force a sale of TikTok over concern that ByteDance may be sharing data of American users with the Chinese government. Microsoft says it will continue talks with ByteDance and will decide whether or not to complete the sale by September 15.

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.

"Smoking got my eyes like an Asian." "Got more kicks than Bruce Lee." "Take her out like Chinese food." We've all heard the overplayed Asian stereotypes in rap lyrics, some less offensive than others. But the collective known at Stirfryboyz is making their thoughts known once and for all regarding their stance: let's just have some fun but be mindful of it.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorOn their first Friday back to operations, Chinese cinemas did roughly $2.92M worth of box office business — more than tripling Thursday’s figures and making a sizable jump from Monday when theaters opened to about $501K in low-risk areas across the country.

Rebecca Davis editorA trio of Hollywood titles previously approved for China announced Thursday that they are set to hit the big screen now that cinemas are kicking back into gear.“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” in 3D and 4K restorations, will screen in China starting Aug. 14 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAs expected, Chinese authorities have given the go-ahead for cinemas in Beijing to reopen this coming Friday. That’s also when the first new Hollywood titles will hit the market, including Dolittle and Bloodshot.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorEXCLUSIVE: Lots of movement on the international box office front this past weekend, and into the beginning of the week. Korean zombie sequel Peninsula, as we reported Sunday, made a meal of five overseas markets with a $21M Wednesday-Sunday frame.