Taiwanese black comedy thriller The pig, the snake and the pigeon gave new impetus to Chinese theater box office over the weekend, beating out four local blockbusters that had dominated the market since the Lunar New Year holiday began early last month. The hit crime film, released in Taiwan last October, grossed $16.2 million from its mainland Chinese debut.
That of Zhang Yimou Article 20 comes in a close second with $16 million, bringing its cumulative score to $320.1 million, according to data from Artisan Gateway. Other Chinese holiday tents also continued to do strong business. The sequel to Han Han's car driving Pegasus 2 earned $14.4 million in its fourth picture for a total of $457.5 million, followed by the children's animation Boonie Bears: Time Twist at $8.7 million ($267.7 million total) and Jia Ling's heartwarming comedy Yolo with $8 million ($478.2 million).
The five Chinese films were well ahead of the only new Hollywood release on the market, Sony's superhero duds. Madame Web. Chinese audiences seem to like the much-maligned Spider-Man spin-off even less than American domestic viewers. The film, starring Dakota Johnson, opened with just $638,000, beaten by a promotional re-release of Denis Villeneuve's film. Dune: part one, which grossed $674,000 Friday through Sunday. Villeneuve achieved commercial and critical acclaim Dune: Part 2 opens in China on March 10. The sci-fi tentpole will be Hollywood's best opportunity in months to restore some enthusiasm around American cinema in the huge Chinese market. Dune: part one (2021) earned $39.5 million of its worldwide total of $402 million in China.
China's economy appears more fragile than it has in a generation, with a lingering housing crisis and a loss of consumer confidence weighing on demand, but the film sector, so far, has remained resilient . As of Monday, China's movie theater box office had generated just under $2 billion in ticket sales this year, with total revenues about 1% higher than the same point in 2023.