Jackie Chan’s ‘Dragon Blade’ rules Chinese box office during holiday
Reporting from Beijing — The 3-D historical action movie “Dragon Blade” starring Jackie Chan ruled at mainland cinemas over the Chinese New Year holiday, raking in $54.4 million in a record-breaking week for the country’s box office.
The total haul for the seven days ending Sunday was $216.4 million, a new high mark for any week, according to Rance Pow, head of the film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway. Year to date, the mainland China box office has pulled in $838.2 million in ticket sales.
Chinese New Year, which officially began last Thursday, is one of the top movie-going periods of the year as schools, businesses and government offices close for the holiday. The period is usually reserved for domestic films or co-productions.
Set during the Han Dynasty, “Dragon Blade” also features John Cusack and Adrien Brody as Romans and was directed by Daniel Lee.
In second place for the week was the Chow Yun Fat comedy “The Man From Macau 2,” a.k.a. “From Vegas to Macau 2,” from Bona Film, which took in $42.1 million. The first installment was released over the Chinese New Year period in 2014, and performed well, earning over $80 million on the mainland. Both were directed by Wong Jing.
The 3-D fantasy adventure film “Zhongkui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal,” was at No. 3, with $30.4 million in earnings, Artisan said.
“Wolf Totem,” a 3-D nature morality tale based on a popular memoir, pulled in $24.6 million for the week. Adding in receipts from preview screenings, the $40-million film has now earned $32 million on the mainland. It was directed by French helmer Jean-Jacques Annaud, who was banned from China after his 1997 film “Seven Years in Tibet” criticized Beijing’s invasion of the region.
Rounding out the top five was “Dad, Where Are We Going 2,” a reality TV show spinoff from Le Vision Pictures that sold $20 million in tickets. The first installment last year was one of the top-grossing domestic films of 2014.
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