‘Mission: Impossible’ on top of China box office, ‘Monster Hunt’ now No. 1 all-time film

Reporting from Beijing —  “Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation” took in around $86 million in its first six days in theaters in China, a strong haul despite a release date weeks behind its stateside bow.

The Paramount Pictures film had financial backing from China’s Alibaba Pictures, which used the company’s various platforms to help promote the Tom Cruise-starrer, and Cruise himself came to China to tout the film. The movie accounted for about 69% of total box-office receipts in the seven days ending Sunday, said film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

“Mission: Impossible” was among numerous U.S. summer blockbusters kept out of Chinese cinemas during July and August as authorities reserved screens for local productions. With fall arriving, Hollywood fare is now back in theaters.

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On Sunday, Universal Pictures’ “Minions” finally arrived in Chinese cinemas, taking in almost $19 million on its opening day. That put it in second place for the week; Universal staged a series of high-profile marketing events for the film, including sending people cloaked in Minions costumes to the Great Wall.

The local Chinese crime film “The Dead End” came in third for the week, earning $4.8 million, while “Terminator: Genisys” added $4.2 million to its haul. The Arnold Schwarzenegger movie has now earned nearly $113 million in China, surpassing its stateside take of about $90 million.

In fifth place for the week was the live-action/animated combo “Monster Hunt,” which eked out $2.8 million in ticket sales, putting it ahead of Universal Pictures’ “Furious 7” as the top-grossing movie of all time in China, Artisan said.

The Chinese-language film, released by Edko Pictures and directed by DreamWorks Animation veteran Raman Hui, has earned more than $380 million on the mainland.

Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from China