Transformers One debuted at the top of the China box office during a notably quiet weekend. The film was the only major release ahead of next week’s National Day holiday, resulting in the lowest-grossing weekend of the year for mainland Chinese cinemas.
Released just a week after its North American premiere, Transformers One, an animated spin-off from the popular franchise, earned $4.9 million during its opening weekend.
According to Artisan Gateway, the film’s total gross in China, including previews, reached $8.0 million.
In second place, Like a Rolling Stone, a drama about a 50-year-old woman reclaiming her life through a driving tour, earned RMB 15.2 million ($2.3 million). This brings its 15-day total to $15.6 million.
Stand by Me, which follows two orphaned children who support each other as teenagers, fell from first to third place with $1.8 million. Its cumulative total since its September 13 release is now $33 million. The film features Karry Wang, leader of the popular boy band TFBoys.
Alien: Romulus returned to the top five, earning $1.1 million and raising its total to $131 million since its August 16 release. Chinese film Go for Broke also made a comeback, adding $1.0 million for a cumulative total of $65.2 million since its release on the same date.
Overall, the nationwide box office for the weekend totaled just $16.1 million, leaving the year-to-date total at $4.88 billion—23% lower than last year’s figure at this time.
Looking ahead, significant expectations are placed on upcoming National Day titles launching unusually on weekdays. The first of these will be Chen Kaige’s The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death, part two of a war trilogy, releasing on Monday.
On Tuesday, several new titles will join it, including:
Ning Hao and Xu Lei’s comedy-drama The Hutong Cowboy
Lu Chuan’s sci-fi monster film Bureau 749
Liu Jiangjiang’s disaster drama Give You A Candy
Oxide Pang’s action thriller High Forces
Wu Bai’s crime film Tiger Wolf Rabbit
Zhang Luan’s Jackie Chan-starring action-comedy Panda Plan
The animated feature New Happy Dad and Son 6: Shrunk
A Tapestry of a Legendary Land, adapted from a stage production.
These new releases aim to boost box office numbers as the National Day holiday approaches.
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