Chinese box office: ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ opens to so-so $17.2 million

Sony is critically acclaimed Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse it opened to $17.2 million in China over the weekend: a respectable start but a fraction of its staggering $120.5 million opening in North America.

As in the United States, the film was very well received by both Chinese critics and viewers. It currently scores 9.4 on ticketing apps Maoyan and Tao Piao Piao and 8.8 on fan site Douban, which is significantly better than any other Hollywood film currently releasing in the country. But Maoyan only expects it to make about $35 million total in the country, a big step down from that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse$62.8 million in 2019.

Analysts have wrestled with the question of how much of the Hollywood studio’s recent decline in film earnings in China should be attributed to product weakness amid changes in market demand. But performance slips between the two Spider-Verse films – both undeniably strong films – seems to suggest that Chinese audiences’ appetite for US content has indeed waned.

In North America, the sequel opened to $120.5 million, up from $35.6 million for the first film in 2018.

In second place, Universal Pictures’ Fast X it earned $7.6 million. After three weekends, the film grossed $124.1 million, more than any non-Chinese title this year.

Japan’s Studio Ghibli took third place with a re-release of its 1986 anime classic Castles in the air. The film made $6 million Friday through Sunday and has made $10.7 million since its June 1 launch.

Basic anime companion, Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopiait was just a step down with $4.2 million for the weekend and $10.9 million from its June 1 opening.

By Paramount Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will launch in China on Friday, followed by Warner Bros.’ The flash on June 16.