Previews for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 4 have generated significant buzz in mainland China, positioning the Chinese-themed film in fourth place at the box office a week before its official release. Despite this, the top two spots over the March 15-17 weekend were held by existing titles. Taiwanese crime film The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon continued its successful run, topping the chart for the third consecutive weekend with earnings of $11.1 million (RMB79.1 million) and a cumulative total of $73.2 million (RMB520 million).
Dune: Part Two maintained its strong performance, earning $9.9 million (RMB70 million) in its second weekend, bringing its total since its March 8 release to $36.5 million (RMB259 million). Notably, $3.6 million of its latest weekend earnings came from Imax screens, contributing to a total of $12.3 million from Imax-branded theaters.
The newly released Chinese film Remember Me secured the third spot with $6.7 million (RMB47.5 million) in weekend earnings and a total of $7.5 million including previews. Kung Fu Panda 4 earned $6 million (RMB42.4 million) over the weekend, adding to its cumulative total of $11.4 million (RMB80.7 million) when factoring in previews. The highly anticipated film is set for an official release on March 22, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, which grossed $154 million in China in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Chinese romantic drama I Miss You slipped to fifth place, earning $4.8 million (RMB34.4 million) in its second weekend and reaching a ten-day total of $23.8 million (RMB169 million). Overall, the weekend saw total cinema revenues of $48.2 million, contributing to China's year-to-date box office total of $2.19 billion. As the distortions caused by the Lunar New Year period fade, it is evident that China's box office performance is currently 5% ahead of the same period in 2023.
