“The Matrix: Resurrections”Over the last weekend, the mainland Chinese box-office dropped five of the top chart positions. The top positions were reclaimed from local holdover titles.
China Film Co.’s patriotic pandemic drama “Embrace Again”Artisan Gateway data shows that the movie was the number one film from Friday through Sunday, with a weekend total of $5.3 Million. The film has earned $139 million over the past 31 December 2021. It was second in the previous weekend with $6.8 million.
Second place was taken by the most recent session. “Fireflies in the Sun,”A Wanda Pictures-backed thriller that is said to be a remake “John Q.”It was released for the first time in December, but it bubbled up with a weekend of $4.4 million, bringing its total to $169 millions.
Chinese crime thriller “G Storm”Earned $3.4 million in the third place over the weekend, for a total of $93.2million since Dec. 31.
Comedy, “Another Me”Since Jan. 1, the company has earned $3.2 Million, or $63.8 Million in total.
Paramount’s “Paw Patrol”For the second week, it held onto the fifth spot. It earned $2.1million for a cumulative $7.5 million over ten days.
In contrast, “The Matrix: Resurrections”According to Maoyan, the film fell from a weak $7.5million first place in its debut weekend to RMB11.7 (or $1.85 million), according to Chinese ticketing data firm Maoyan. The film’s cumulative now stands at RMB72.8 million ($11.5 million).
It has less than a week to reach the $15.2million Maoyan previously predicted, “The Matrix”: Resurrections” is certain to be crushed by the crowd of local titles that will open on Tuesday Feb. 1, the first day of the Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year) holidays.
Eight titles will be open on this date, and they will be given an uncontested 13-day window before the next films in theaters. The holiday period has in recent years become China’s peak cinema-going season and records have repeatedly been broken.
It is dependent on the films and the outbreak of coronavirus, whether that can be done again. The maximum capacity of most cities is currently 75%. Chinese authorities are working to curb any increase in cases with lockdowns, aggressive testing and other measures. That reflects the country’s wider COVID-zero strategy, an imperfect vaccination picture, and supreme vigilance ahead of and during the Beijing Winter Olympics, which kick off in three main venues from Feb. 4.
People may also be more likely to go to the movies if they travel less around the country this year. Forecasters predict that Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, particularly those in the South less affected by virus, will have the best holiday performances.
The total aggregate box office for the current year is $380 millions. This is 16% lower than the total of $451 millions recorded in 2021. The Chinese New Year could determine whether or not the market recovers from its decline in 2021, or if it plays catch-up for the remainder of 2022.