‘Soul’ Jazzy In China While ‘Little Red Flower’ Blooms With $116M Debut; ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Now At $119M Worldwide – International Box Office

Holdover romantic drama A Little Red Flower topped a quiet weekend at China's box office, earning $11.7 million for a local total of $182.8 million. Fellow holdover Shock Wave 2, a crime thriller starring Andy Lau, scored second, adding $7.8 million for a four-weekend haul of $163.2 million, according to data from Artisan Gateway.

Vivienne Chow Documentary feature “Inside the Red Brick Wall,” which chronicles one of the most dramatic chapters of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, bagged the best film at the 27th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.The best director prize went to Peter Chan Ho-sun for “Leap,” a sports drama based on the trajectory of China’s national women volleyball team.

Rebecca Davis editorDisney/Pixar’s “Soul” has now outperformed “Wonder Woman 1984” in China by more than $10 million despite debuting a week later than the latter.

International box office was led again by China this weekend with local titles A Little Red Flower and Shock Wave 2 at the top of the charts, and Disney/Pixar’s Soul continuing its jazzy run there. The Pete Docter-directed original is soon to become Pixar’s No.

With the pandemic dragging on and vaccine efforts falling behind schedule, the total domestic weekend box office once again fell below $10 million with “Wonder Woman 1984” leading the charts with $3 million to reach $32.6 million in domestic grosses after its third weekend.Between widespread closures in Europe and lower-than-expected performance in China, the DC blockbuster has now grossed just $131.4 million worldwide.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBaidu, the tech giant that operates China’s leading web search engine and is majority owner of the iQIYI streaming platform, is reported to be seeking $3.5 billion through a secondary share listing in Hong Kong.The move has not been confirmed by the company itself, though Bloomberg identified CLSA and Goldman Sachs as the investment banks it had selected to manage the new listing and share sale.The possible development coincided with news that the New York Stock

Soul” continues to charm China with sales of $13.8 million over its second weekend, more than double its $5.5 million Christmas debut, thanks to strong word of mouth. It was the highest-grossing foreign import of the New Year weekend, far outstripping “Wonder Woman 1984” and even Hayao Miyazaki’s older but beloved animation “Ponyo.”The weekend was huge.

Thanksgiving and is also now available to rent on premium video on demand.Disney and Pixar’s “Soul,” which skipped U.S. theaters and is available for free for Disney+ subscribers, added $16.5 million internationally — a 114% increase from its opening in the same markets last weekend.

After crossing $100 million worldwide on New Year’s Eve, Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman 1984” reached $118 million on the first weekend of 2021. But the pandemic is making its presence felt as domestic grosses fell 67% from the film’s $16.7 million opening weekend.The DC blockbuster took in $15.6 million worldwide this weekend, with $5.5 million grossed in the U.S.

Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., has accused his opponent in next week's runoff election, Democrat Jon Ossoff, of lying by failing to disclose his business ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

China is looking to new, modern methods in its campaign of patriotic education, according to reports.

Hong Kong action sequel Shock Wave 2 rocked China's box office over the weekend, opening to a healthy $64.5 million. Youth fantasy film Dream of Eternity also did decent business, debuting to $38.9 million.

It’s clear, now having watched both 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and the just-released sequel, “Wonder Woman 1984,” the two films are very different. Whether that difference is good or bad is up to you, but there’s no denying that director Patty Jenkins has crafted a second ‘Wonder Woman’ film that shares very little in common with the original.

Rebecca Davis editorHong Kong’s “Shock Wave 2” out-earned “Wonder Woman 1984” in China in just two days, topping the local box office this weekend with a $51.4 million debut, according to data from Maoyan.By the end of Christmas Day, “Shock Wave 2” had grossed $28.6 million (RMB187 million), more than the $23 million (RMB151 million) “Wonder Woman” had earned since Dec.

Refresh for latest…: There was a bit more varied action at the international box office this weekend, including the continued rollout of Warner Bros/DC’s Wonder Woman 1984, a sizable start for China’s Shock Wave 2, the debut of Disney/Pixar’s Soul, The Croods: A New Age nearing $100M global, and a brand new milestone for Japan’s Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train which, according to estimates, has overtaken Spirited Away to become the highest-grossing film ever in the market.

The superhero sequel “Wonder Woman 1984” has earned an estimated $38.5 million in ticket sales from international theaters, Warner Bros. said Sunday.

“Wonder Woman 1984” — Warner Bros.’s much-anticipated sequel to its superhero franchise starring Gal Gadot — suffered a weak weekend debut in China, where it earned a mere $19 million in ticket sales, or less than half of what Hollywood had expected. Media watchers had pegged the follow-up film to 2017’s “Wonder Woman” to reel in at least $40 million in the Middle Kingdom.