Box Office

Chinese audiences have gotten used to hearing at the last minute that a film won’t be screened for “technical reasons,” and know that the phrase is usually a euphemism for state censorship. It came as a real surprise to many that they were, for once, unable to watch a film for actual technical reasons this

Hollywood monster movie “Godzilla vs. Kong’ and Korean historical drama “Book of Fish” each made a claim to be the top film at the Korean box office. But neither could prevent weekend revenues from slumping. “Fish,” which depicts the encounter between an early 19th century scholar who learns about nature and biodiversity and a peasant

While the U.S. industry celebrated “Godzilla vs. Kong” as the biggest and widest opening of the pandemic, the monster film has already been defeated in its second weekend in the world’s largest film market by the low-budget local drama “Sister.” In its Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday debut, the reportedly $4.6 million-budgeted latter film directed by

Alamo Drafthouse was riding high. The Austin, Texas-based theater chain had managed the difficult feat of expanding its footprint nationally, popping up in major metropolises such as New York and Los Angeles without losing its indie spirit. Its unabashed love of all things cinema, menus crammed with craft beer and locally sourced snacks, and themed

Even though Chinese consumers are arduously calling for a boycott of Western brands concerned about potential human rights abuses in the country’s Xinjiang region, they apparently had no qualms about supporting Hollywood. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” crushed its competitors in China this weekend with a $70 million debut, marking the biggest

“Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,” the fourth film in the Rebuild of Evangelion sci-fi anime series created and co-directed by Anno Hideaki, has earned $30.6 million from 2.2 million admissions in its first week on release, according to distributor figures released on Monday. Bowing on March 8 on 466 screens, the film has grabbed

Disney’s animated adventure “Raya and the Last Dragon” remained victorious at the domestic box office, collecting $5.5 million from 2,163 venues over the weekend. Those ticket sales, representing a 35% decline in its second weekend of release, push its overall total to $15.8 million domestically. “Raya and the Last Dragon” has generated another $36 million

Universal Pictures is pumping the brakes on the latest “Fast and Furious” entry. “F9,” which was slated to debut over Memorial Day weekend, has pushed back its release date once again. But fear not, adrenaline junkies: the high-octane sequel hasn’t spun too far out; it’s still expected to open this summer on June 25. Universal

Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” has set a China release date of March 26, five days ahead of its U.S. debut in theaters and on streaming. The past two installments of the franchise have made more money in China than in North America, and with U.S. cinemas still closed in much of

Japanese hit animation “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train” enjoyed a 32% surge to move to the top of the Korean box office. It grossed $745,000 over the weekend to expand its cumulative total to $7.74 million in just over four weeks of release. “Demon Slayer” had not previously topped the Korean chart. But its

After nearly a year of closures, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has given movie theaters in New York City permission to reopen at limited capacity starting on March 5. During his daily press briefing, the Empire State leader said cinemas in the city will be permitted to operate at 25% capacity, with no more than

Korean theatrical box office slipped back into its rangebound new normal over the weekend, with nationwide gross takings of just $3.32 million between Friday and Sunday. That suggests that the previous weekend’s $4.7 million total was an exception driven by the Lunar New Year festivities. Until audiences rediscover an appetite for film in cinemas, and

The Beijing Culture-backed tear-jerking comedy “Hi, Mom” grossed $134 million this weekend to finally surpass Wanda Film’s record-breaking Chinese New Year holiday frontrunner “Detective Chinatown 3” in overall box office, having led the latter in single-day returns since Monday. It is now only the sixth film to ever have grossed more than RMB400 million ($62

Disney’s “‘Raya and the Last Dragon” is set to hit theaters in China on March 5, the same day as its release on Disney Plus in other territories. It ranks among the first foreign titles to announce an upcoming release date since the Wednesday conclusion of the Chinese New Year holiday — the country’s top

China’s Lunar New Year holiday brought in a record $1.2 billion (RMB7.8 billion) in ticket sales, making a tenth of the global 2020 box office in just six days. It marked the first time in Chinese film history that the country’s single-day box office exceeded RMB1 billion ($155 million) for five consecutive days. More than

Despite nearly six months of cinema closures due to COVID-19, China actually built nearly 6,000 more new screens in 2020, according to a new report from the country’s film authorities. The data contradicts the disastrous predictions made over the summer about the extent to which the pandemic would devastate the Chinese exhibition sector. China now

China made history this weekend with record sales of nearly $775 million (RMB50 billion) within the first three days of the Chinese New Year holiday, led by an incredible $424 million (RMB2.74 billion) debut from “Detective Chinatown 3.” This marked the first time the country’s national box office has ever broken RMB1 billion ($155 million)

The world’s largest film market is living up to its title with world-record-setting sales. “Detective Chinatown 3” shot past strong competition, as predicted, on its Chinese New Year opening day on Friday, notching a record-breaking $163 million (RMB1.05 billion) in sales despite poor word of mouth. The sum marks the highest ever opening day tally

“Detective Chinatown 3” lived up to its billing as the box office favorite over the Chinese New Year holiday period, with first day grosses passing $150 million by 4pm local time. Data from ticketing agency Maoyan showed the franchise comedy adventure film as clocking up RMB975 million of revenues, and claiming over 60% of the

Pixar animation “Soul” and Japanese anime “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train” held station at the top of the South Korean box office for the second successive weekend. Still heavily under the influence of COVID conditions, nationwide overall takings remained anemic. The most recent weekend total weighed in at just $3.63 million, down from $3.92

In China’s second quiet weekend in a row with no notable new releases, Disney/Pixar’s “Soul” continued to hold its own, managing a sixth place finish after 45 days in theaters as local consumers looked ahead to the blockbuster bonanza of the upcoming Chinese New Year. The key week-long holiday, which runs from Feb. 12 to

Denzel Washington’s crime thriller “The Little Things” led domestic box office charts again, pulling in $2.1 million in its second weekend of release. Overseas, “The Little Things” collected $1.4 million in ticket sales from 20 countries. The R-rated film has made $7.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $5.2 million internationally to date. Directed

Chart positions for the top five films remained largely unchanged over the weekend in China, as the Middle Kingdom’s box office returned to a familiar early-year torpor. Data from Artisan Gateway shows that aggregate revenues amounted to $32.8 million over the Friday to Sunday period, down from $37.5 million the previous weekend. But considering the

Pixar’s “Soul” was joined by Japanese hit sensation “Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train” at the top of the box office rankings in South Korea over the weekend to Jan. 31. Together they lifted nationwide theatrical revenues by 30% compared with the previous, dismal session. “Soul” held up very strongly in its second weekend of

Theatrical box office takings in Japan fell by 45% in 2020, compared with the previous year, as coronavirus took its toll on cinemagoing. But that makes Japan one of the most resilient major box office territories. Data published Wednesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) show that total box office was $1.37

Mildly titillating romantic comedy “Big Red Envelope” topped the box office rankings in China as overall takings in the world’s biggest theatrical movie market amounted to a lowly $37.5 million over the weekend. The new release title may be intended as a critique of obsessions with money, gifting culture and societal status – red packets

Family drama film “A Little Red Flower” continued its dominance of China’s box office in 2021 with a third weekend on top of the charts. The weekend was, however, a typically quiet one for January, worth an aggregate $47.1 million according to exhibition and distribution consultancy, Artisan Gateway. While the individual films’ scores are modest,

“Wonder Woman 1984” led domestic box office charts for the third straight weekend without much in the way of competition. The superhero sequel nabbed $3 million between Friday and Sunday, bringing its total in the U.S. and Canada to $32.6 million. Overseas, the film grabbed $4.7 million for an international tally of $98.8 million. With

The coronavirus outbreak caused a 72% slump in theatrical box office in Hong Kong last year. It also caused audiences in the city to embrace a more diverse selection of films, especially those from Asia. Hong Kong traditionally has one of the world’s highest per capita cinema attendance rates. That means that in conventional years

Disney/Pixar’s “Soul” continues to charm China with sales of $13.8 million over its second weekend, more than double its $5.5 million Christmas debut, thanks to strong word of mouth. It was the highest-grossing foreign import of the New Year weekend, far outstripping “Wonder Woman 1984” and even Hayao Miyazaki’s older but beloved animation “Ponyo.” The