China’s First Post-Coronavirus Weekend Box Office Led by ‘Dolittle,’ ‘Bloodshot’

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).

Rebecca Davis editorCinemas in some parts of China have been told that they may now sell up to 50% of their available tickets for each screening and play films over two hours in length without restrictions starting from Aug.

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.

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.

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.

Universal'sDolittletopped China's box office for a second week as the country's cinemas continued their tentative reopening following the novel coronavirus shutdown.

Rebecca Davis editorLocal content is proving more of a draw than Hollywood films as China’s cinemas get back on their feet.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIconic auteur director, Wong Kar-wai has finally confirmed “Blossoms Shanghai” will be his first dive into dramatic TV series production.An adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s multi-award-winning Shanghai-set novel, “Blossoms,” the series also marks a return for Wong to his birthplace.

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.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChina’s second Friday with cinemas back to business in low-risk areas rang up another $4M at local turnstiles, a 39% increase versus the same day last week. About 60% of movie theaters are now operating, with capacity limits and social distancing still in place, so all numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt, though they are encouraging.

Manori Ravindran International EditorVenice Golden Lion contender “Miss Marx,” starring Romola Garai as the spirited daughter of philosopher Karl Marx, has secured its first tranche of international deals ahead of the September fest. (Watch the film’s exclusive trailer above.)Written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli (“Nico, 1988,” “Cosmonaut”), with Celluloid Dreams serving as international sales agent, the film has been picked up by DDDreams in China and B-Team in Spain.

China’s theatrical box office would overtake that of North America.That scenario hasn’t happened yet. Last year, China’s box office growth slowed to a pedestrian 5% and reached a $9 billion total, according to the Motion Picture Association.

Bruce Haring pmc-editorial-managerPresident Trump has thrown the New York Yankees a curve ball, saying he’s decided not to throw out a first pitch at a game next month.Trump left the door open on possibly doing it later in the season.“Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th.

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.