While the overall international box office has been quiet this weekend, the same can’t be said for the Chinese film market. With the widespread and extended celebrations for the Year of the Dragon bringing with it the lucrative Chinese New Year movie-going window, we’ve already seen some stellar box office takings, no doubt in part due to the lifting of China’s stringent COVID-19 policies last year. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A. has all the hot new titles to watch.
YOLO Lives More Than Once
It is currently estimated that the first 2 days of the Spring Festival have accounted for around $339M in box office spending. Pegasus 2 took an early lead on Saturday but was soon passed by the Alibaba and Jia Ling CFG inspirational film, YOLO. The film takes home about $112M for its 2-day performance. IMAX, which has proved popular in the wider Chinese market, accounted for just under $4M of that. The film has generated some buzz in local markets due to the exhaustive changes the star had to make to her appearance to take on the role- a mystery that has been greatly hyped up by the marketing team, too. Including deliberately keeping her away from promotional events to build further speculation and anticipation.
It’s uncommon for Chinese New Year movies to find a wider release offshore, but Sony will be handling distribution rights for this movie in international territories. So if you’re curious, this one may well hit a screen near you soon. The movie is expected to close at around $611M.
Pegasus 2 Holds Strong
It’s on-trend for the opening day’s winner to slip down the rankings with time. With $105.6M in the kitty, including $4.6M from IMAX, Pegasus 2 has still managed to have a great run, too. It’s anticipated to close at the $460M mark. Boonie Bears: Time Twist, a sweet 10th-anniversary celebration for the animated franchise, closed out the top 3 at $62M, expected to close at $320M.
If this proves to be the year we have an international break-out hit from the Chinese New Year market, it will be an intriguing milestone indeed for the wider movie market. YOLO is definitely one to watch.
Film and Television 