China Box Office: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania’ Wins Weekend
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“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania” topped the box office charts in mainland China in its first weekend, opening with $19.4 million. But the much-hyped arrival of Marvel movies was weaker than its franchise predecessors. And its debut wasn’t enough to reignite the China box office market.
The film arrived in a fashion that was sufficiently signal for marketing purposes. And it opened on a date that coincided with North American and other international debuts. In the context of the Chinese market, the film had the advantage of landing at a time when the big, Chinese-made, Lunar New Year titles were losing their steam.
Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway shows that “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania” earned RMB132 million in local currency (or $19.4 million). That’s less than a third of the $68.2 million previously earned by “Ant-Man and the Wasp” in its opening weekend in China, in August 2018.
IMAX reported that the film grossed nearly $4 million, or 21% of its total performance on large-format screens in China.
“Quantumania” came in ahead of long-running “The Wandering Earth 2,” which placed second with RMB81.1 million ($11.9 million). That fifth-week increase lifted “The Wandering Earth 2” to $565 million in its running total since its Jan. 22 release.
Zhang Yimou’s “Full River Red” was third with RMB 63.3 million ($9.3 million) over the weekend. It is the biggest film of the year in China with a total of $648 million since January 22nd.
“Boonie Bears: Guardian Code” finished fourth over the weekend, collecting $5.7 million Friday through Sunday, for a total of $206 million.
Children’s animation “Deep Blue Sea” earned $4.8 million for a total of $122 million.
As “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania” failed to provide much of a boost to China’s overall market, the weekend’s nationwide box office total fell to $59 million (down from $76 million earlier when there were no major new titles). Year-to-date growth now stands at $1.98 billion, up nearly 9% from the same point in 2022.
