Romulus’ Chinese Earnings Surpass North American Total

“Alien: Romulus” took the spotlight for the third consecutive weekend at the mainland China box office. Another notable entry was the Thai comedy “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” which ascended into the top five in its second week in the Chinese market.

While these foreign films showed promising performance, Chinese-made films have been underperforming, casting a shadow on the local summer box office.

According to consultancy firm Artisan Gateway, “Alien: Romulus” garnered RMB63.4 million ($8.9 million) from Friday to Sunday. This brings its total to RMB661 million ($93.1 million) in China, surpassing the $88.8 million it earned in the North American market by Sunday.

The movie’s cumulative performance is the second-highest for a Hollywood film in China this year, trailing only “Godzilla x Kong.” Many were surprised by this achievement, especially considering it happened in August, traditionally part of a blackout period or ‘Chinese film promotion month.’ However, the restrictions seemed to be relaxed as Chinese cinemas sought standout content.

The Chinese crime action film “Go for Broke” jumped from fourth to second place, with a mere 13% week-on-week decline in its earnings. The film raked in $6.2 million over the weekend, bringing its 17-day total to $44.9 million.

“Successor,” the summer’s biggest hit, reclaimed a spot in the top five, earning $3.7 million, pushing its total earnings to a staggering $459 million.

The crime drama “Untouchable” saw a second-weekend earnings of $3.7 million, down from its first weekend’s $10.3 million.

Thai comedy-drama “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” climbed to fifth place. It earned $3.3 million in its second weekend, down from an estimated $4.4 million on its debut. This brings its cumulative earnings to $10.7 million since its release in China on August 23.

Artisan Gateway reported that the nationwide weekend box office totaled $40.8 million, marking the lowest figure in ten weeks. This brings the year-to-date box office total to $4.70 billion, a 22% decline compared to the same period last year.

Leading film ticketing agency Maoyan reported a massive 44% decline in the summer season box office, running from June to August. In 2024, the summer season box office totaled RMB11.64 billion.

Maoyan attributed the decline to fewer blockbuster films. Despite this, the number of films released and those grossing over RMB100 million reached a near six-year high, showcasing a variety of domestic films.

“This summer featured a highly diverse range of domestic films, with genres spanning comedy, suspense, drama, crime, science fiction, and animation,” the company stated. The top-grossing films, “Successor” and “A Place Called Silence,” collectively achieved a box office total of RMB1.35 billion.

Regarding imported films, nine foreign titles grossed over RMB100 million each this summer. This figure is higher than in 2023. Notably, “Alien: Romulus” outperformed its North American results in the Chinese market.

Source: Artisan Gateway, Maoyan