‘Croods 2’ Adds $4.4 Million As Universal Nearly Sweeps Top 5 at Pandemic Box Office

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWhile the North American box office pulls in less than $5 million per weekend due to COVID-19, the China and Japan markets are not only open, but also capable of breaking theatrical records. It may feel logical to hurry more U.S.

The superhero sequel “Wonder Woman 1984” has earned an estimated $38.5 million in ticket sales from international theaters, Warner Bros. said Sunday.

“Wonder Woman 1984” — Warner Bros.’s much-anticipated sequel to its superhero franchise starring Gal Gadot — suffered a weak weekend debut in China, where it earned a mere $19 million in ticket sales, or less than half of what Hollywood had expected. Media watchers had pegged the follow-up film to 2017’s “Wonder Woman” to reel in at least $40 million in the Middle Kingdom.

While we may be talking about the unfortunate death of movie theaters in the US, considering they have yet to fully bounce back from being closed most of the year and 2021 isn’t looking as promising as we hoped, Chinese cinemas are not only open but thriving.

China's box office was the scene of disappointment over the weekend, as Warner Bros.' Wonder Woman 1984 got trounced by local action flick The Rescue. The Rescue, directed by Dante Lam, opened to $36.3 million, nearly double Wonder Woman 1984's meagre $18.8 million start, according to data from Artisan Gateway.

Wonder Woman 1984 opened to an underwhelming $18.8 million in China, behind expectations and a less-than-wondrous start for WarnerMedia as it embarks on a bold plan to release its films both in theaters and on HBO Max. The Warner Bros./DC superhero pic placed No.

Rebecca Davis editorThis weekend pit the best of Hollywood’s action tentpole rolodex against China’s — and found that fresh local content has greater sway over local audiences in what is now the world’s largest film market.“Wonder Woman 1984” grossed just $18.8 million in China, almost half the approximately $34 million haul of Chinese actioner “The Rescue.” Both films far underperformed against expectations, however, as the Chinese box office saw its lowest pre-Christmas weekend since 2014,

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDiana Prince may be able to best Cheetah, but she’s no match for a global pandemic.“Wonder Woman 1984” opened to a less than heroic $18.8 million in China over the weekend and a disappointing $38.5 million overseas.

Wonder Woman 1984 is off to a sluggish start in China. The Warner Bros./DC superhero tentpole opened Friday in direct competition with Chinese action flick The Rescue, directed by Dante Lam, and as of 5 p.m.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese regulators have approved a deal for Alibaba’s investment arm to buy 5.26% of Mango Excellent Media for $946 million (RMB6.2 billion), tying together two of the country’s top online video platforms at a time when the battle for local streaming supremacy is ramping up.Alibaba owns Youku, China’s number three streaming platform, while TV producer Mango Excellent — which has ties to the influential state-run TV network Hunan Broadcasting System — owns the immensely

Warner Bros/DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 begins offshore rollout today in such markets as Indonesia, Portugal and the UK — though on a very limited basis in the latter where London cinemas have been re-shuterred as the capital moves into a Tier 3 Covid lockdown.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese action comedy “Bath Buddy” topped the mainland China box office over the weekend with a $28.1 million opening splash. The box office performance came despite the film being in hot water behind the scenes.The Yi Zhenxing-directed film tells the improbable tale of a rich kid who loses his memory and instead ends up working in a bath-spa.

Refresh for latest...: The international box office continues to provide welcome surprises during the pandemic era. Where movie theaters are open and people feel safe, they turn up for new or enduringly exciting product that’s on offer.

With its theatrical window deal signed by AMC and Cinemark, Universal and Focus Features have continued to lead the struggling pandemic box office as “The Croods: A New Age” earned its third straight No. 1 weekend and the studio’s seventh straight weekend atop the charts with $3 million from 2,115 screens.Overseas, the film added $6.6 million in China and $8.4 across all overseas markets, including openings in Mexico and Ecuador.

Refresh for more analysis, chart, etc. Even in a normal, healthy economy, the major studios are typically skittish about opening big movies before Christmas with many busy with holiday activities, so it comes as no surprise during a pandemic where just north of 40% of all 5,500 domestic movie theaters are open that there wouldn’t be any new wide openings this weekend.

The Trump administration on Monday added China, Nigeria and Iran to the list of countries that engage in violating or allowing violations of religious freedom within their borders — part of U.S. efforts to end religious persecution around the world.  The State Department announced that the three countries would be named as "Countries of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

Rebecca Davis editorPatriotic Chinese viewers flexed their muscles this weekend to topple Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Monster Hunter,” which grossed just $4.8 million before it was pulled from cinemas due to complaints that interpreted a line of dialogue to be racist and “insulting to China.” In a slow week, however, that was enough to net it a fifth place open, even though cinemas had entirely pulled the title from their line-ups by early Saturday.

It was a drama-filled weekend at the Chinese multiplex. Tencent's big-budget video game adaptation Monster Hunter was yanked from cinemas one day into its release over a scene local audiences decried as derogatory.

Refresh for latest…: Sunday’s international box office reporting looks vastly different to what was expected coming into the weekend. A Friday gross that portended a high-teens launch for Monster Hunter in China was quickly thwarted when local authorities pulled the feature game adaptation from the country’s cinemas.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor“Mulan” lands on Disney Plus for subscribers at no extra charge this weekend. The live-action remake directed by Niki Caro is an adaptation of Disney’s 1998 animated film and based on Chinese folklore.