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As China gears up for a big political anniversary and national holiday, its box office has been dominated by innocuous animal films and local fare capable of keeping censors happy but unable to make that huge of a splash. None of the top four weekend titles has scored more than 7 out of 10 on the key user-review platform Douban.

“Little Q,” a heartwarming dog film from Hong Kong, led China’s weekend box office with a $9.6 million debut, despite a delayed release date and continued tensions between the mainland and the special administrative region.

The film was directed by Wing-cheong Law, a longtime collaborate of Johnnie To and winner of a 2002 Golden Horse Award for best editing on “Running Out of Time 2,” and stars veteran Hong Kong actor Simon Yam. The movie is based on a true story retold in a Japanese novel by Ryohei Akimoto and Kengo Ishiguro, which was adapted into “Quill,...

With “Jade Dynasty” out front, Chinese action and Asian animation films led the way at the China box office over the past weekend, while the few American titles in play have failed to attract many moviegoers.

Chinese action fantasy “Jade Dynasty” led the weekend box office in its debut with $38.1 million, figures from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed. That was higher than the global total for the much-lauded “Hustlers,” which took $33 million in its opening in North America and $37.7 million worldwide.

China’s box office this year is running 2.5% behind this point last year, but the past weekend was not too shabby. Artisan Gateway reported a total gross of $111 million between Friday and Sunday, exceeding the $109 million earned at the box office in North America.

Starring Mandopop idol Sean Xiao Zhan, Li Qin (“The Founding of an Army”) and Rocket Girls 101 singer Meng Meiqi, “Jade Dynasty” is directed by Hong Kong’s Tony Ching Siu-tung,...