The Chinese box office is slowly coming back to live as the country’s theaters slowly reopen under the new normal brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic. This week, a re-released Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone emerged on top as China’s theaters enter their fourth week of being open.
The Hollywood Reporter says that the 3D, 4kK re-release of the 2001 film managed to pull in $13.4 million over the weekend, putting it at number one and bringing the total weekend box office for China to $21.9 million. This is the biggest take for the Chinese box office since it reopened.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that the film’s revenue has also been pumped up by its IMAX screenings, which naturally charge a higher price. With this box office take, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone inches its way closer to earning a billion dollars worldwide.
Variety reports that the other films that made up the Chinese box office include Bad Boys For Life, Interstellar, The Eight Hundred, and Sheep Without A Shepherd. Unlike Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the film Bad Boys For Life performed miserably, drawing in only $3.1 million. Meanwhile, the re-released Interstellar earned an additional $1.3 million, bringing its lifetime total to $123.9 million.
The 2019 Chinese crime drama Sheep Without A Shepherd, on the other hand, earned another $1.1 million and brought its total to $188 million. The Eight Hundred only opened in a limited number of theaters in previews, but drew in $2 million in the box office and placing it in third place.
The numbers are not the usual high ones expected from the Chinese box office, but they are proof that people have no problem going to the movie theaters even in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.
While the numbers may not seem huge, it is still a sign that people are still willing to go to movie theaters even with the global coronavirus pandemic still ongoing. The numbers may rise even further when movie theaters in other areas in China. When the Chinese government allowed theaters to reopen last July 20, only the theaters in low-risk areas were allowed to operate.
When movie theaters in the rest of the world also get to reopen still remains to be seen as the global coronavirus pandemic is still very much a concern elsewhere in the world. According to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 dashboard, there are currently 21,549,706 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide. Deaths caused by COVID-19 are now at 767,158 people.