“The Captain,” also known as “The Chinese Pilot” earned $34.9 million according to consultancy Artisan Gateway, for a two-week cumulative of $343 million. The cumulative for “People,” which had a huge opening day on Sept. 30, is higher still, at $362 million.
Both films were released in time for the National Day celebrations and the week-long public holiday in China. So large a large drop in individual and cumulative weekend scores was to be expected after the return to work. But per screening average grosses, at over $350 a time, remained very solid.
One of the few newcomers to make it into the chart was Hong Kong-made crime thriller “A Witness Out of the Blue,” starring the ever-popular Louis Koo. It made $14.8 million in just two days after a Saturday release.
Patriotic, mountaineering action adventure, “The Climbers” added $12.4 million in fourth place. Its cumulative stands at $138 million after two weeks on release.
“Abominable,” the U.S-Chinese cartoon from Dreamworks and Pearl Studios, slipped to fifth place. It earned just $1 million over the weekend for a $14 million cumulative after 13 days.
Despite the end of the holiday, the weekend box office was worth $91 million. That keeps the year to date total 3.9% ahead of this point last year, with a running total of $7.52 billion.
Source: Variety By Patrick Frater
