‘Vanguard’ And ‘Fatman’ Add Coins To Specialty Box Office To Keep It Running

Despite being available for streaming at home, Wonder Woman 1984 is on track to have the biggest opening weekend of the pandemic.

The year-end holiday corridor is often the merriest time of the year at the box office. This year, however, the two biggest holiday tentpoles waiting to be unwrapped on Dec.

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.

Typically, we’ve avoided weekend box office previews during the pandemic as there’s been nothing to pump up from a potential ticket sales outlook, however, Warner Bros.’ release of $200M tentpole sequel Wonder Woman 1984 merits a line, particularly with its unorthodox theatrical day and date HBO Max streaming plan on Christmas Day.

“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.

The pandemic box office saw a narrow race between Sony/Screen Gems’ “Monster Hunter” and Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s “Croods: A New Age” this weekend, and “Monster Hunter” is currently estimated to become the first non-Universal release to reach No. 1 in eight weeks with a $2.2 million opening from 1,736 screens.The latest video game adaptation from married actor/director team Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S.

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.

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.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapan’s leading film distributor and exhibitor Toho Tuesday announced that it is upping the official box office total of the 2001 Miyazaki Hayao animation “Spirited Away” by $8.5 million to $304 million, the all-time record for any film in the Japanese market.

Mid-December is usually a launching pad for yuletide-fueled holiday blockbusters. That isn't the case this year as Hollywood and theater owners grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and a virtual nine-month standstill in moviegoing that will result in the worst showing for domestic ticket sales in at least four decades.

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.

Bleecker Street’s Wild Mountain Thyme and RLJE Films’ Archenemy are the latest films to throw their hats into the specialty box office space. As we all know, for the past nine months, box office numbers have been stagnant to non-existent because of the pandemic. That said, it’s the same story for these two titles — but they get gold stars for braving the pandemic to make their theatrical debuts.

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.