China Box Office: ‘Barbie’ Opens in Fifth Place with $8 Million

BarbieThe phenomenal US box office opening was not matched in China, far from it.

The Greta Gerwig-directed Warner Bros. blockbuster opened with just $8 million in China, finishing the weekend in fifth place behind a slew of local Chinese hits. In North America, the film opened to a record $155 million.

The smooth start to Barbie the trend of Hollywood movies earning much less in China than before continues. by Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One He badly missed his China opener the previous weekend with a third-place finish behind a couple of Chinese holdovers.

word of mouth for Barbie has been strong, despite tepid sales. His social scores are 9.4 on Maoyan, 9.3 on Taopiaopiao, and 8.6 on Douban. On Monday the good buzz seemed to be giving Barbie a modest boost, with its sales ranking rising to third for the day.

However, over the weekend, Barbie faced formidable local competition. historical fantasy epic Creation of the Gods I: Realm of Stormsthe opening film of the long-planned fengshen trilogy, released on Thursday and topped the charts from Friday to Sunday with a projection of $42.6 million. Directed by Wuershan (painted skin) and executive produced by Bill Kong (Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger), creation of gods is one of the most visually ambitious Chinese films in recent memory, earning it comparisons to Lord of the Rings either Game of Thrones. It has made $53.7 million, including Thursday, a less-than-explosive opening given the industry’s many years of anticipation for the franchise.

Light Chaser Animations chang an added $40.6 million in its third weekend of release, bringing its total to $168 million and making it one of the most successful Chinese Original Animated Films of all time. Third place went to Wonder Family of the successful comedy group Mahua FunAge (moon man, Goodbye Mr. Loser). It debuted with $31.3 million in its first three days. And Wang Baoqiang’s latest hit, Never say Neverit fell to fourth place in its third weekend, adding $20.6 million for a strong running total of $261 million.