A preview of Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” has placed the Chinese-themed film in fourth place at the box office in mainland China, a week before its official theatrical debut.
However, over the weekend of March 15-17, the top two positions remained with the remaining titles “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon” and “Dune: Part Two”.
Taiwanese crime thriller “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon,” which is already showing on Netflix in regions outside China, topped the chart in mainland China for the third weekend in a row. According to data from consulting firm Artisan Gateway, she earned $11.1 million (RMB 79.1 million), for a cumulative total of $73.2 million (RMB 520 million).
“Dune 2” grossed $9.9 million (RMB 70 million) in its second weekend, down from $19.9 million in its opening session. Artisan Gateway now reports that its total cumulative revenue since its March 8 issuance has reached $36.5 million (RMB 259 million). Imax reported that $3.6 million of the film’s most recent weekend gross came from its giant screens and that $12.3 million of that came from Imax-branded screens.
The newly released Chinese title “Remember Me” ranked third over the weekend. It has grossed $6.7 million (RMB 47.5 million) and has a total of $7.5 million including previews.
“Kung Fu Panda 4,” which is a revenue-sharing import, grossed $6 million (RMB 42.4 million) between Friday and Sunday. Taking into account previous previews, the film has already earned a cumulative total of $11.4 million (CNY 80.7 million). It will be officially released on March 22.
(By comparison, “Kung Fu Panda 3,” a US-Chinese co-production, grossed $154 million in China in 2016.)
“I Miss You,” a Chinese romantic drama film directed by Han Yan and adapted from the novel by Cheng Qi, fell from third place to fifth place. It earned $4.8 million (CNY 34.4 million) during its second weekend and its ten-day cumulative total is $23.8 million (CNY 169 million).
Artisan Gateway says the weekend’s total box office revenue was $48.2 million and its year-to-date box office total in China is $2.19 billion. With the Lunar New Year distortions of comparisons in the rearview mirror, China’s box office performance turns out to be 5% ahead of 2023.