The Chinese New Year holiday has always been a major day for box office in China, though last year the pandemic put a stop to that.
That changed this weekend as local feature “Detective Chinatown 3” shocked the industry worldwide, opening to a staggering $397 million debut. That pushes past “Avengers: Endgame” to becoming the biggest opening of any film in any single market ever.
IMAX cinemas also saw a record-setting Chinese New Year opening weekend of $25 million. The success has had a knock-on effect as exhibition stocks are moving higher again – fuelled by the belief that Stateside theaters may see similar pent-up demand play out once the COVID-19 pandemic comes under control in the United States.
For now though, the U.S. domestic box-office remains dead as “The Croods: A New Age” narrowly beat out newcomer “Judas the Black Messiah” for the top spot – both earning just over $2 million each.
Source: Deadline
