It’s been months since we have published a Weekend Box Office report because, well, there’s not much box office to report on (this weekend’s highest-grossing film was The Croods: A New Age with $1.7 million). At least in the United States. Over in China, where theaters started to re-open last July, box office records are being broken.
Detective Chinatown 3, the third film in the buddy cop series, grossed a staggering $424 million during its first weekend of release (February 12-14). That’s the biggest opening in a single market ever, shattering the previous record set by Avengers Endgame in the U.S. ($357 million). “This marked the first time the country’s national box office has ever broken RMB1 billion ($155 million) a day for three consecutive days,” according to Variety, “a feat achieved despite caps on max theater capacity at 75 percent in most of the country and 50 percent in areas particularly at risk for COVID-19, such as the Beijing-adjacent Hebei province.” Despite the restrictions, Detective Chinatown 3, along with fellow mega-hit Hi, Mom, helped break even more records this past weekend:
Hi, Mom and Detective Chinatown 3 both sailed past the $600 million mark during their second weekend in cinemas — an unprecedented feat for two films competing head-to-head in a single market… Hi, Mom won the second weekend with sales totaling $134.2 million, a 17 percent decline from its opening three days, when DC3 was dominating screen share. DC3 added $45.3 million this past weekend, an 89 percent slide from its record-breaking opening of $397.2 million. Ten days into release, Hi, Mom’s cumulative total is $619.4 million, a squeak more than DC3 with $619.2 million.
Since the Lunar New Year on February 12, China’s box office has made over $1.5 billion, or “71 percent of the full 2020 North American box office,” reports Deadline. The box office in the U.S. should pick up soon, however, with New York City theaters re-opening next month.
