Chinese Box Office: ‘Fast X’ Surpasses $100 Million, ‘The Little Mermaid’ Struggling to Stay Afloat

universal images’ Fast X scored another easy win at the Chinese theatrical box office over the weekend, earning $17.6 million for a cumulative total of $109.9 million.

By Disney The little Mermaid, however, is clearly sinking rather than swimming in the Chinese market. The Rob Marshall-directed film starring Halle Bailey as Ariel opened to just $2.5 million, in the lowest range for Disney’s live-action remakes in China.

The little Mermaid it was surpassed by a couple of remnants and a new anime release. Local street comedy Godspeed, already a month in theaters, added $6.8 million to a total that now stands at $145.4 million. Disney/Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 took $4.9 million for a cume of $79.6 million. The Japanese anime feature film Sword art online the movie opened at $3.8 million, with local ticketing app Maoyan predicting it will top in China at around $5 million.

A little over a week ago, Fast X gave Hollywood its best China opening of 2023: $51.1 million. The film slipped 66 percent in its second frame, and Maoyan now predicts it will finish at just under $125 million. This is a boffo showing for the new post-pandemic normal, but much less than the recent installments of the Fast & Furious franchise they brought home from China. F9: The fast saga earned $216.9 million in 2021, a sizable drop from The fate of the furious‘ $392.8 million in 2017 and Furious 7$390.9 million in 2015.

The little MermaidChina’s gains are modest by any measure. Maoyan expects the film to require just $4 million. Most of Disney’s live-action remakes have done much better. Cruella landed on the low end with $24 million in 2021, while others like it The Lion King ($120 million, 2019) and THE Jungle Book ($150 million, 2016) did much better. Domestically, Mermaid is performing powerfully: Studio estimates currently see a four-day Memorial Day debut of $118 million, the holiday’s fifth-largest opening of all time.

Products from US studios will continue to flow into China in the coming weeks. by Sony Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse will launch on Friday, followed by Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts one week later. Japanese anime will also continue to be a staple at the Chinese multiplex, with both Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Utopia of Heaven and the 1986 Studio Ghibli animated classic Laputa: Castle in the Sky out Thursday.