News

Universal’s live-action remake “How to Train Your Dragon” took flight at the top of the China box office over the June 13–15 weekend, opening with RMB79.7 million ($11.1 million), according to Artisan Gateway.

This included $1.6 million on Imax screens, representing 15% of the opening weekend total.

After two weeks at No. 1, Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” dropped to second place with $4.7 million. The action franchise installment has now accumulated $55.8 million in China, making it one of the top-performing Hollywood imports of the year so far.

“Endless Journey of Love,” the Chinese animated fantasy from Maoyan Movie, placed third with $2.4 million for a running total of $21.3 million. Directed by Zhou Tienan and Yu Ao, the film is set in 1930s China and follows village girl Qian Xiao, who gains the power to control time, making her a target of powerful forces. As she uncovers the metropolis’s hidden secrets, she...

Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” retained the top spot at the China box office for a second consecutive weekend, earning RMB70.7 million ($9.8 million) between June 6–8, according to Artisan Gateway.

The Tom Cruise-led action sequel has now grossed $46.9 million in China, maintaining a strong hold despite a slowdown in new wide releases. Of this, Imax accounted for $1.7 million for a running total of $8.7 million in the format in the Middle Kingdom.

In second place, the Chinese animated fantasy “Endless Journey of Love” from Maoyan Movie added $4.2 million in its second frame. Directed by Zhou Tienan and Yu Ao, the film is set in 1930s China and follows village girl Qian Xiao, who gains the power to control time, making her a target of powerful forces. As she uncovers the metropolis’s hidden secrets, she faces peril and the cost of her gift. The voice cast includes Karry Wang,...

Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” soared to the top of China’s box office over the May 30–June 1 weekend, earning RMB184.5 million ($25.6 million), according to Artisan Gateway.

The film’s high-octane action sequences and Imax screenings contributed to its strong performance. Imax accounted for $4.9 million of the film’s total China box office. The China opening weekend is also Imax’s biggest for a Hollywood title in 2025.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond said: “We were particularly encouraged by the great Imax results in China, which bodes well for the many Hollywood tentpoles set for release there in the weeks ahead.”

In second place, the Chinese animated fantasy “Endless Journey of Love” from Maoyan Movie earned $7.6 million. Directed by Zhou Tienan and Yu Ao, the film is set in 1930s China and follows village girl Qian Xiao, who gains the power to control time, making her a target of powerful forces.

"We have to sink it!" Well Go USA has posted the teaser trailer for Operation Hadal, a Chinese action thriller from filmmaker Dante Lam. This jingoistic movie is about the Chinese Navy going all out to defend an offshore platform in the sea. It's set for a US release at the end of February after originally opening in China this month first. The offshore platform Deep Blue 3 in Chinese territorial water has been occupied by mercenaries. The Chinese Navy sets sail then to repel invaders as the Jiao Long commando team prepares for a fierce fight in the deep sea. So this is mostly a movie about the Chinese Navy being badass and taking out bad guys (they've been making these for years - also see The Battle at Lake Changjin). Starring Xuan Huang, Yosh Yu, Bryan Larkin, Luxia Jiang, Karry Wang, Kelvin Taylor, Sean Kohnke, Cory Beeston. Half of...

“749 Ju” is a new live-action, science fiction feature, written and directed by Chuan Lu, starring Karry Wang, Miao Miao and Ryan Zheng, releasing internationally October 1, 2024 in theaters:

“…in the near future, the appearance of unknown mysterious creatures has led to an unprecedented crisis for the entire city.

“But a secret plan hidden for years suddenly surfaces. A teenager is brought into ‘Bureau 749’ and enters the layers of labyrinths, starting a journey of adventure…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

“Transformers One” took top spot at the China box office over its debut weekend. It was the only major title to release on an atypical Friday that precedes next week’s National Day holiday season. That also made the latest Friday-to-Sunday session the lowest-grossing weekend of the year for mainland Chinese cinemas.

Released only a week after its North American debut, “Transformers One,” an animated spin-off from the “Transformers” franchise which has been enormously popular in the Middle Kingdom, earned $4.9 million, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Including its previews, the film finished Sunday with a running total of $8.0 million in China.

In second place, “Like a Rolling Stone,” a drama film about a 50-year-old woman who decides to take charge of her own life and embarks on a driving tour, earned RMB15.2 million ($2.3 million). That lifts it to an 15-day cumulative of $15.6 million.

“Stand by Me,” the...

Chinese-produced drama film “Stand by Me” held on to top spot at the mainland China box office. Dreamworks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” enjoyed a modest third-place debut.

After an almost imperceptible uplift provided a week earlier by the Mid Autumn Festival, mainland China’s theatrical business extended the slump that it has been in since the second quarter.

Weekend box office, in the country with a population of 1.3 billion, and some 90,000 cinema screens in commercial operation, amounted to just $25.1 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That was the third lowest weekend figure this year.

The Mid-Autumn Festival box office totaled RMB389 million ($55.2 million) between Sept. 14 -17, according to the National Film Administration. That was less than half of the RMB803 million recorded at the same time of year in 2019. Chinese films accounted for an 85% market share. The slump came despite an all-time record number of screening sessions,...

China’s Mid-Autumn Festival brought a slew of new film releases, but little discernible uplift to the box office. Drama film, “Stand By Me” emerged on top.

Official rest days for the Mid-Autumn Festival are Sunday to Tuesday (Sept 15-15), but Saturday (Sept. 14) was declared an “adjusted working day.” That meant that some new titles held back their opening from the conventional Friday to Sunday instead – local sources report nine Chinese-produced films new to the market – but that the total nationwide box office was worth only $28.1 million.

Friday-release, “Stand By Me” emerged with $10.3 million (RMB73.0 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The story of two orphaned or abandoned children who meet up and help each other as teenagers was originally supposed to have been released in July. But its outing was held up by political intervention. It stars Karry Wang, leader of the popular TFBoys boy band.

“Alien: Romulus” has become Hollywood’s second biggest film of the year at the mainland China box office, following a strong second weekend hold.

The film picked up RMB140 million ($19.7 million) between Friday and Sunday in China, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That compares favorably with its $26.2 million opening weekend and gives it a cumulative of RMB523 ($73.7 million) since releasing on Aug. 16.

Among Hollywood import titles in 2024, the running total is beaten only by (Chinese-backed) “Godzilla v Kong” which amassed $134 million.

In less than two weeks, “Alien” has jumped ahead of a cluster of Hollywood’s other franchise titles and the $50 million ceiling that most have been stuck beneath. “Kung Fu Panda 4” earned $52 million in China. “Despicable Me 4” earned $56 million. “Dune 2” earned $49.7 million. “Inside Out 2” earned $48 million.

Imax reports that, of the latest weekend gross figure, the film earned $2.75 million on its screens.

It has been commonplace in academic circles to divide up and label Chinese filmmakers into generations that reflect socio-political currents as much as cinematic style.

Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, who were educated at the end of the Cultural Revolution, are considered the leading lights of the “fifth generation.” The rebellious cluster that followed them, Zhang Yuan, Wang Xioashuai, Jia Zhangke and Lou Ye are among those labelled as “sixth generation.”

But with substantial bodies of work under their belts and international reputations already established, the sixth generation are no longer quite so new, nor so angry.

The four Chinese films selected for the main competition – all world premieres – at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival represent a showcase of directors who are also known-quantities, but who are worthy of higher profiles. (The festival’s Asian Talent selection has a further selection of six more directors seeking to break through.

The latest films by acclaimed Chinese directors Guan Hu, Wei Shujun, Gu Changwei and Zhang Dalei are among 14 features selected for the main competition at the upcoming 26th Shanghai International Film Festival.

The festival has announced a total of 50 films in contention for the Golden Goblet Awards, which further include 11 titles for the Asian New Talent competition, five each for the animated feature and documentary feature competition, and 15 for the short film competition. Between them are 38 world premieres – a new record for Siff – as well as six international premieres and six Asian premieres.

The main competition section carries four Chinese titles,...

Deadly flooding did not divert this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival from running its full course, with the event drawing to a close Monday with an award ceremony honoring Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy, India’s Natesh Hegde, and China’s Kong Dashan and Wei Shujun with top prizes.

Many anticipated that this fifth edition of the festival would be different, given the shifting role of its co-founder and leading light, director Jia Zhangke. He unexpectedly stepped down last year, only to recant and come back in the nebulous role of “chief experience officer” months ago.

Instead, this year’s iteration has been more memorable for the backdrop of historically heavy rains that have left at least 15 dead, more than 120,000 relocated, and an estimated 1.8 million people affected in the inland Shanxi province.

The show went on in Pingyao, even though some three dozen parts of the picturesque ancient capital...

Action comedy, “Counter Spy” is the first film set up under a pact between The H Collective and Chinese streaming giant iQIYI. The deal calls for co-production of three movies.

“Counter Spy” is currently being rewritten by former Marvel exec Craig Kyle from an original draft by David Rothenberg and Lionel Enns. The story follows a barista working at the CIA headquarters in Virginia who becomes tangled up in a secret mission involving Chinese counterparts. Production is slated to begin in early 2019.

Under the terms of the three-picture agreement, iQIYI will handle theatrical and digital distribution of The H Collective co-production films in China.

The deal was unveiled at iQIYI’s annual Technology & Entertainment World conference in China. Details of the two other films included in the deal were not disclosed.

By some measures, China’s largest streaming platform, iQIYI recently completed an Ipo in the U.S. It claims...

The H Collective have announced that they have acquired the rights from Revolution Studios to the global hit xXx film franchise alongside its star and producer, Vin Diesel and his One Race Films. Revolution Studios retains its rights to the first three films. D.J. Caruso will return to direct xXx 4 with Diesel reprising his role as "Xander Cage." Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum will produce with Diesel, Samantha Vincent for One Race Films and The H Collective. Production is slated for December 2018.

The xXx franchise, which includes xXx, xXx: State of the Union, and xXx: Return of Xander Cage has collectively grossed nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box-office. The H Collective CEO Nic Crawley said this.

"During my time at Paramount I was lucky to be involved in the development and distribution of xXx: Return of Xander Cage. The response from the Chinese box office was unprecedented. Bringing the...

The H Collective and Vin Diesel/One Race Films have acquired rights to the xXx franchise from Revolution Studios, and Diesel will reprise his role as Xander Cage in the fourth installment that will go before cameras in December 2018. D.J. Caruso, who helmed last year’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage, is returning as director.

Under the deal, Revolution Studios retains rights to the first three films which have collectively grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. The franchise, however, has been steadily losing audiences domestically. Xander Cage only opened to $20.1M in its debut weekend in January last year and ran out of gas at $44.8M. The first xXx opened 2002 and hauled in $142.1M domestically.

In China, Diesel’s return to the franchise after Ice Cube starred in the interim was welcome news. China accounting for the bulk of Xander Cage‘s $69.3M overseas debut, so, it’s no wonder why Chinese-backed...

Chupan Chupai, Goldbuster and more International Cinema titles opening this weekendChupan Chupai, Goldbuster and more International Cinema titles opening this weekendAdriana Floridia1/4/2018 2:32:00 PMEvery week, select Cineplex theatres feature some of the most popular and exciting films from all around the world, from countries like China, India, Korea, The Philippines and more. If you want to try something different at the movies, or simply celebrate your own or a new culture on the big screen, we’re highlighting the International Cinema titles out this weekend that you’ll surely enjoy!

Chupan Chupai (Urdu w/ English subtitles)

Chupan Chupai is a comedy of errors revolving around three friends Feddy, Koki and Teli, stupid by nature and cursed by luck. Their lives take a chilling turn when they cross paths with Babu (Ahsan Khan) and his alter ego Pari. Together they knit a smart kidnapping plan to abduct someone wealthy and demand a huge ransom.

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “The Great Wall” starring Matt Damon!

“The Great Wall,” which opens on Feb. 17, 2017 and is rated “PG-13,” also stars Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Kenny Lin, Junkai Wang, Zheng Kai, Cheney Chen, Xuan Huang and Andy Lau from director Yimou Zhang and writers Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro.

To win your free passes to “The Great Wall” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!

Between courage and fear. Between monsters and men. A wall stands that must never fall.

Academy Award® winner Matt Damon (The Martian, The Bourne franchise) leads humanity’s greatest fight for survival in The Great Wall, from Legendary and Universal Pictures. When a mercenary warrior (Damon) is imprisoned within The Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of our world.

As wave after wave of marauding beasts, intent on devouring the world, besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront this unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

Directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, House of Flying Daggers), the action-fantasy marks his first English-language production and the largest film ever shot entirely in China.

To create The Great Wall,...