(CFI) We already knew that imported films were helping the China box office recover from a slow 2016, but now we can see which movies were tops during the first six months of the year.
Not surprisingly, The Fate of the Furious was the number one film overall, grossing 2.67 billion yuan ($394.5 million). The eight-film series now seems unstoppable in China, and could still go on to be the year’s top movie here.
Number two is an India film, but no, not Dangal. Jackie Chan’s Kung-Fu Yoga is set in India and made 1.75 yuan billion. It was also the top Chinese New Year/Spring Festival film. Not far behind is Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark’s Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, also a Chinese New Year film, that made 1.66 billion yuan.
Still in theaters is June’s top film, a film that has been criticized for having the poorest performances of its franchise in China: Transformers: The Last Knight. Michael Bay’s last go at Transformers (until he or the producers decide he should have another go) has drawn 1.52 billion yuan to date.
Dangal finally rounds out the top five with 1.3 billion yuan. It’s the best performing India film of all time in China, and as noted earlier by this website, the leggiest.
Source: China Film Insider by Steven Schwankert
