‘Moon Man’ Holds Off ‘Warriors of Future’ on Another Strong China Box Office Weekend

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo, and is projected to bring home $6.5 million this weekend, according to Forbes. Based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” the Sony film has received lackluster reviews, but still holds the number one spot in this summer’s lowest-grossing weekend at the box office.

Naman Ramachandran Some 550 cinema venues across the U.K. will celebrate cinema and cinema-going under the banner of National Cinema Day on Sept. 3. The initiative, which has the participation of all the major U.K. cinema chains and wide range of smaller cinema operators and venues, will see all participating cinemas offer tickets for all screenings from £3 ($3.50). The aim is to encourage as large and wide an audience of cinema-goers as possible to enjoy the big screen experience. The celebration arrives as the U.K. cinema sector makes a post-pandemic recovery, with both box office and admissions now tracking at 80% of the record-breaking levels seen in 2018 and 2019, which were the biggest years for cinema-going since 1970.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: The bowels of the summer box office have been reached with Sony’s new C CinemaScore horror movie The Invitation leading with $6M-$7M at 3,114 theaters. Like the late Andy Rooney, I get a lot of mail from sources, but in this instance it’s about why it’s important to be gentle when covering the box office. We’re still in the pandemic, we’re not back yet, it’s not good for our business to be nasty, blah blah blah. However, simply putting random movies in theaters without any great P&A spend doesn’t do the box office, or exhibitors any favors. This weekend will rank as the lowest grossing weekend to date of summer with an estimated $54M for all titles (some even have it lower). If it makes anyone feel better, it’s not the worst weekend of the year. That belongs to Jan. 28-30 when all titles made $34.9M per Box Office Mojo.

Wise men say only fools predict that adult films don’t work at the pandemic box office, however, older moviegoers kept falling in love with Warner Bros.’ Elvis this summer to the point where it’s now director Baz Luhrmann’s highest grossing movie ever of his career in U.S./Canada with $144.851M, beating the original run of his 2013 title, The Great Gatsby, which made $144.84M.

With no new wide Hollywood tentpole releases until October, we’re in a period of holdovers, and local titles excelling in their home markets (and beyond), while Top Gun: Maverick continues to soar and there’s a will it or won’t it question mark over Jurassic World Dominion‘s shot at getting to $1B global.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese animation film “New Gods: Yang Jian” was the top film at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” opened in third place.“New Gods: Yang Jian” earned 19.8 million (RMB134 million) on its debut between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. It places ahead of previous winner “Moon Man” which slipped from first to second place with a $17.8 million (RMB121 million) fourth weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Hunt,” the period political thriller directed by “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, held top spot at the South Korea box office for the second weekend. “Nope” was the highest opener, landing in third spot.“Hunt,” made $5.68 million over the weekend, down 35% compared with its opening score a week earlier.

Continuing its hypersonic run, Paramount/Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick has, in its 13th weekend of release, crossed the $1.4B mark worldwide, lifting the cume to a touch over $1.403B through today.

Two wide studio releases will hopefully prevent this summer from reaching another low at the box office after last weekend’s $67.3M. If there’s one movie that’s going to pull ahead, sources are betting on Crunchyroll’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. That distributor has proven in a short amount of time that they can draw a great deal of anime fans in a Friday through Sunday span. The Tetsuro Kodama directed animation movie is looking at anywhere from $12M-$15M, ahead of Universal’s genre lion-stalking film, Beast, starring Idris Elba; that pic hoping for at least double digits.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSpace comedy Moon Man held on to the top spot at the mainland China box office for a third weekend. It has now accumulated $363 million.Released on July 29, “Moon Man” earned RMB217 million ($32.4 million) between Friday and Sunday earning some 45% of the nationwide weekend total, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The film’s invulnerability underlines once again how the Chinese exhibition and distribution sector has become focused on major hits and top-heavy.There could scarcely be more powerful demonstration of that than the photographs carried over the weekend by Mainland Chinese of Hong Kong star Louis Koo apparently in tears over the disappointing box office stars for “Warriors of Future,” the sci-fi fantasy that he starred in, financed and produced.

Lionsgate thriller Fall will make an estimated $2.5+ million this weekend at 1,548 locations for a PSA of about $1,618. The audience (54% male and 61% over 25, according to PostTrak) was broader than it might have been after a company founded by director Scott Mann swapped dozens of f-words, moving Fall from an R to a PG-13 rating.

EXCLUSIVE: With today’s business included, Universal Pictures is crossing the $3B mark at the global box office for 2022 so far, becoming the first studio to reach the milestone since 2019. The grosses broken out to date are $1.74B at the international box office and $1.281B domestically. This is the eighth time Uni has topped $3B worldwide.

according to Forbes, after opening on Aug. 5.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterJordan Peele’s latest nightmare, “Nope,” has crossed $100 million at the domestic box office, marking the director’s third feature film (out of three) to achieve that benchmark.After three weeks on the big screen, the film’s North American tally stands at $100.32 million.“Nope” — starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings who discover something spooky hovering around their family’s ranch — is one of the few original movies to cross the $100 million mark in pandemic times. When it comes to movies that aren’t based on existing brands or franchises, only director Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic “Elvis” ($137 million) and the Sandra Bullock-led romantic comedy “The Lost City” ($105 million) have surpassed the coveted threshold in 2022.

China has set an August 19 release date for Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru. This will be the first major tentpole from Hollywood to hit the market since Universal’s own Jurassic World Dominion which has grossed $157.4M there through Sunday and during an extended nine-week run; it is the biggest studio import of 2022.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, gin and tonic – one of the best cinematic pairings of a lifetime. Nearly two decades after first working together on the box office hit "Gangs of New York," DiCaprio and Scorsese are joining forces once again for their sixth feature film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," based on the novel by David Grann.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Emergency Declaration,” a timely Korean-made action thriller, flew to an opening weekend of $6.5 million. But it was old-fashioned naval actioner “Hansan: Rising Dragon” that stayed afloat at the top of the South Korean box office for a second week.“Hansan,” a sequel to a 2014 record breaker, earned $9.18 million from over 1,600 screens, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).