China Box Office: ‘The Last Frenzy’ Keeps Theatrical Lead as Momentum Slows Further

“The Last Frenzy,” a comedy film about a dying man’s last hurrah, retained the top spot in mainland Chinese cinemas for the third weekend of its four weeks on release. Other signs of theatrical malaise were plentiful.

“The Last Frenzy” earned $5.8 million (RMB41.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That lifted its total to within a whisker of the $100 million landmark, at $98 million (RMB696 million) since releasing on May 1.

“Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” the Soi Cheang-directed crime action film set in Hong Kong’s now demolished Kowloon Walled City, held on to second place. It earned $4.9 million and has a cumulative of $86.2 million.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which two weeks earlier had been the biggest title before slipping to fourth, regained a position. In third, it earned $2.8 million for a cumulative of $25.6 million, since debuting in China on May 10.

“Three Old Boys,” a crime action film directed by Gao Qunshu (“Beijing Blues,” “Old Fish”) was the weekend’s highest opener. Starring Bao Bei’er, Han Geng and Guo Tao, the film earned $2.7 million (RMB19.0 million).

(“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” opened outside the top ten. Other data providers estimate that it earned a fraction over $500,000 in its opening three days.)

Fifth place ove the latest weekend belonged to “Hovering Blade” with $1.8 million. The iQiyi-backed revenge-action film is a Chinese adaptation of a crime novel by Japanese author Keigo Higashino about a father on a revenge mission after discovering that his school-age daughter has been raped and murdered. After ten days in cinemas, it has a cumulative of $10.9 million.

Theatrical momentum, which has made China the world’s biggest cinema market so far this year, continues to slow in the flat spot between the May Day holiday and China’s own summer season.
Artisan Gateway calculates that year-to-date box office in China has now passed the $3 billion mark and totals $3.03 billion. The year-to-date score is now 1% below the comparable figure in 2023.