“Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a Hong Kong-produced action thriller, took the top spot at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. But it was a quiet session and came ahead of a welter of new releases targeting the May Day public holiday.
The film, which is among those that have a Wednesday (May 1) official release date, earned $5.5 million (RMB38.9 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.
The nationwide weekend total was a slender $18.7 million. That was the quietest theatrical weekend in China since the end of the country’s official anti-COVID policies in December 2022.
Directed by the prolific Soi Cheang, “Twilight” stars the veteran martial arts star Sammo Hung and actor-producer Louis Koo in a tale of a youngster who stumbles his way into Kowloon’s notorious Walled City and discovers a new kind of order within its seemingly criminal chaos.
It took the top spot from the long-playing “Godzilla x Kong: The New Era,” which earned $3.5 million (RMB25.9 million) in second place. Since releasing on Mar. 29, it has amassed a cumulative total of $128 million, making it by far the top-scoring Hollywood title this year in China.
Japanese animation film, “The Boy and the Heron” placed third with $2.8 million over the latest weekend. Its cumulative is $109 million since releasing in China on Apr. 3.
Romance, “Viva La Vida” added $1.2 million to its score, edging it to $38.3 million. That is a score better than seemed possible when it was crushed and pulled from release at the Lunar New Year period.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” earned some $900,000 in fifth place. That advances its cumulative to $49.2 million, since releasing on Mar. 22, and allows it to narrowly overtake “Dune 2,” which earned $48.5 million in China.
China remains the biggest box office territory in the world so far this year with a running total of $2.62 billion. According to Artisan Gateway, that is a 2% increase on 2023.