'1917' Earns $5 Million in China as Theater Reopening Grows

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‘1917’ Earns $5 Million in China as Theater Reopening Grows

by Jeremy Fuster | August 9, 2020 @ 11:10 AM

Best Picture nominee hits Chinese theaters eight months after its U.S. release

Universal’s Best Picture nominee “1917” finally got its release in China this weekend, earning an opening total of $5.16 million as the number of reopened theaters in the country grows to over 8,000.

The Golden Globe-winning film was distributed in China by Alibaba on behalf of Amblin Partners and received a strong 8.8/10 rating from audiences on ticketing platform Maoyan. Its opening weekend includes a $620,000 from 532 IMAX screens, and the film’s global box office total now stands at $381 million.

In second is Warner Bros. re-release of “Interstellar,” which took an additional $4.2 million in its second weekend to bring its total for this Chinese run to $11.5 million. Its $680,000 IMAX gross pushed the premium format’s weekend total to $1.6 million. Universal’s “Dolittle” is in third with a cume of $16.2 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 2020 in China after the COVID-19 pandemic closed theaters for more than six months. Next weekend will see China get a re-release of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” including 3D for the first time, as well as the release of Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life,” which has earned $419 million worldwide.

Also Read: Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' Boosts Slowly Recovering Chinese Box Office

In Korea, the box office is continuing to show solid numbers despite the reduction of ticket availability to social distancing measures. The Hong Won-chan crime film “Deliver Us From Evil” earned a five-day opening of just under $15 million, while the “Train to Busan” sequel “Peninsula” now has a total of $27 million after four weekends. Unlike China, which has relied mostly on Hollywood imports to slowly raise numbers, Korea has seen a stronger turnout for films from its robust film industry.

Finally, France, which has struggled to get its box office moving again, got a boost from STX’s “Greenland,” which earned $1.09 million from 485 locations. Despite reopening more than a month ago, France’s movie theaters have found it difficult to bring audiences back to theaters. Showtimes have been reduced by 25% and some theaters, including Paris’ famous Le Grand Rex, have announced that they would close again due to low ticket sales failing to cover ongoing operational costs.