‘Tenet’ Tops $250M WW, Takes Japan By Storm; ‘Mulan’s Uphill Battle Continues In China – International Box Office

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).

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.

Warner Bros.’ “Tenet” has passed $300 million at the global box office and $45 million domestically, grossing $2.7 million at U.S. theaters this weekend as Cineworld announces that it will close its U.K.

Rebecca Davis editorPeter Chan’s volleyball drama “Leap” has jumped above its competition in China this weekend with a $24.6 million three-day debut, highlighting Chinese audiences’ continued preference for well-crafted local titles, according to data from the Maoyan industry tracker. The score is higher than the $23 million opening of Disney’s “Mulan” the weekend of Sept.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorRefresh for latest…: In its fifth weekend at the international box office, Warner Bros’ Tenet added another $15.8M from 56 markets. The offshore cume has risen to $242M for a worldwide total of $283.2M.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorThe first major blockbuster of the pandemic era, The Eight Hundred this week became the No. 1-grossing movie of 2020 worldwide, jumping ahead of Bad Boys For Life ($430.3 million global, per Sony).

Holdover local war epic The Eight Hundred dominated Mulan over the weekend in China, as the Disney tentpole continued its precipitous decline in its most important theatrical market. The Eight Hundred, which has been in cinemas for a month, earned $17.7 million, lifting its total gross to $423.2 million, according to data from local box office tracker Artisan Gateway.

Rebecca Davis editorDisney’s “Mulan” made only $6.47 million over its second weekend in China, allowing it to be handily defeated once again by the local war epic “The Eight Hundred,” according to data from industry tracker Maoyan.As of Sunday evening, the Disney title has earned a cumulative $36.5 million (RMB 247 million) in the key territory.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorEXCLUSIVE: Christopher Nolan’s Tenet added a handful of markets this weekend after beginning overseas rollout in August. While the domestic performance has been hampered by the coasts being closed, offshore markets have had a bit more leeway, and in some ways been robust even with capacity restrictions.

Imax CEO Richard Gelfond touted the recent theatrical release of Christopher Nolan's Tenetwhile pouring water on the premium VOD window for Hollywood blockbuster releases during an investor conference appearance on Wednesday.

Christopher Nolan’s action-thriller Tenet has surpassed the $200 million milestone at the global box office.The first major blockbuster to hit the big screen following the coronavirus shutdown is continuing to draw fans back to theatres, adding $6.7 million from the North American market in its second weekend on release.It also brought in $10 million from the Chinese box office to take the movie’s worldwide total to $207 million.Meanwhile, Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan, starring Liu Yifei

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.