In its second weekend on the mainland China box office, the fish-out-of-water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” triumphantly secured the top spot. The previous leader, “Shining for One Thing,” swiftly descended to fifth place.
Amidst a fresh start to the new year following a flurry of Christmas-New Year releases, the latest weekend reshuffled the holdover titles rather than introducing major new cinematic entries.
“Jonny Keep Walking,” portraying the struggles of a rural man adapting to a corporate role in a bustling metropolis, amassed $22.4 million (RMB159 million) from Friday to Sunday, as per figures from consultancy Artisan Gateway. While this marked a slight decline from its $26.1 million opening, the film’s cumulative earnings reached $77.5 million since its debut on Dec. 29.
Directed by Peng Da, also known as Dong Pengcheng, a prolific figure in the realms of acting, writing, and directing, the movie adds to his 2023 releases of “Post Truth” and “One and Only.”
Claiming second place in the weekend standings was “The Goldfinger,” raking in $8.5 million. Starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the film is a nostalgic nod to Hong Kong’s crime-action-drama genre from the early 2000s, marking the stars’ first on-screen reunion post the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy. Released on Dec. 30, “The Goldfinger” has now accumulated $45.9 million, following its $22 million opening weekend where it secured the fourth spot.
Securing the third spot was “I Did It My Way,” another Hong Kong crime-action flick featuring Andy Lau facing off against Eddie Peng. This film earned $5.6 million over the weekend, totaling $31.4 million since its release on Dec. 29.
Pre-Christmas releases from Wanda Pictures and Alibaba Pictures, “Endless Journey,” clinched the fourth place with $3.7 million over the weekend. Based on real events, the film recounts the tale of a former detective, disgraced and turned private citizen, hunting down criminals. Its cumulative earnings now stand at $87.5 million.
Landing in fifth place, “Shining for One Thing” collected $3.5 million, marking a considerable decline from its $77.7 million debut weekend. Nevertheless, the film has accumulated $92.7 million since its release on Dec. 30.
Beyond the top five, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” retained its position as the leading imported title, now amassing a total of RMB390 million ($54.5 million), according to ticketing agency Maoyan.
Continuing to demonstrate robust performance, “Taylor Swift The Eras Tour” achieved a cumulative total of RMB67.7 million ($9.5 million), as reported by Maoyan. Imax further notes that “Eras” garnered $4.3 million at its mainland Chinese venues, accounting for 45% of its total box office collection in the region.
