While moviegoers in the world’s second largest film market remained at home because of bad weather, “Kung Fu Panda 3” brought a spark of energy during preview screenings.
A harsh cold snap froze the Chinese box office over the past week, as temperatures were very low in some parts of the country, forcing most movie enthusiast to stay at home, China Technology News reported.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which is wrapping up its China run, parted with $18.2 million only, dropping by 59 percent from the previous week. According to Beijing-based box-office analysis company EntGroup, the performance brought the movie's 16-day China total to $115.8 million.
Although on normal rating it is huge, "Force Awakens's" performance is clearly behind many analysts' pre-launch predictions. Young film enthusiasts outside China's major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are very unfamiliar with the "Star Wars" franchise because of the unique background factors that prevented the first six films from receiving wide exposure in the country.
According to local industry figures, many regional moviegoers, who should lift the titles to actual blockbuster status in China, were unsure of what to make of J.J. Abram's fan-favorite story arc. These filmgoers have no close tie with the original set of characters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
One cinema chain manager told the publication: "Many people in second- to fourth-tier cities were very confused. Maybe they should have made a special 10-minute pre-show trailer for China, explaining who is who, and what happened in the previous six episodes."
Meanwhile, DreamWorks Animation's much anticipated film, "Kung Fu Panda 3," gave a jolt of energy to the market, garnering an impressive $6.6 million in a three-hour limited preview on Saturday, Jan. 23, taking the sixth position for the whole week.
The revenue for "Kung Fu Panda 3" was more than twice what "Star Wars" grossed for the whole day. The performance is attributed to a strong local dedication to the franchise and extraordinary efforts to localize the threequel with a special Chinese version. The movie is set to perform even better when it officially releases this Friday, Jan. 29.
On the other hand, local animation hit "Bonnie Bears 3" garnered $13.3 million during its second weekend, reaching $33.4 million in nine days. However, with "Kung Fu Panda 3" set to hit the market this weekend, "Bonnie Bears 3" may struggle to match the $44.3 million set by the previous installment, "Bonnie Bears: Mystical Winter."