Chinese box office: ‘Lost in the Stars’ opens to $100 million

The first big Chinese hit of the summer has arrived. Lost in the stars, a mystery thriller produced by As One Productions, made $98.3 million over the four-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday weekend, according to data from regional box office consultancy Artisan Gateway. When ticket presales for Monday are added to the count, Lost in the stars it easily crossed the $100 million mark.

Romantic drama Love never endsby Lian Ray Picutres, opened a day early and took second place for the holidays with a $23.7 million five-day opening.

Lost in the stars is co-written by Chen Sicheng, the successful screenwriter and director behind the Chinatown Detectives franchise (the three films in the franchise have earned over $1.3 billion). Maoyan ticketing app projects the Lost in the stars to eventually earn over $400 million.

Co-directed by Rui Cui and Xiang Liu, the film stars Zhu Yilong as a man whose wife (played by Janice Man) goes mysteriously missing while they are taking a vacation to celebrate their anniversary. Not long after, she suddenly reappears—but the man insists that the particular woman in front of him—despite looking just like her—isn’t actually his wife. A lawyer (played by actress Ni Ni) then gets involved in the bizarre case and more mysteries slowly emerge.

Love never ends is a love story about old people’s love starring veteran actors Ni Dahong, Kara Wai, Tony Leung and Ye Tong. The film premiered earlier this month at the Shanghai International Film Festival, where it was met with rave reviews.

The Remnants of Hollywood held a couple of the other top spots in the Chinese box office charts during the holidays. by Paramount Transformers: Rise of the Beasts took third place with $8.3 million Friday through Monday. She earned $79 million after three weekends. Fourth place went to Never say never, a Chinese drama about a mixed martial arts coach who helps rural kids pursue their dreams, which grossed $9.4 million from a bountiful surge in previews. Directed by and starring Wang Baoqiang, the highly anticipated film will be released on July 6th.

Warner Bros.’ DC superhero delusion The flash it was several steps behind with $3.4 million for a running total of $23.7 million.

The next one for China studios will be Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on June 30 Indiana Jones the franchise doesn’t have the same nostalgic appeal in China that it has in much of the West, so local analysts are toning down their expectations for the film.