After much controversy over the removal of six seconds of dialogue editing out all references to the romantic relationship of Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindlewald (Mads Mikkelsen), Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore won the week at the China box office, earning $14.7 million since its opening on April 9. Its weekend take was $1.4 million.

The Chinese censor board, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) asked Warner Bros. to cut the lines “I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love.” Warner Bros. caved. “As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors,” WB said in a statement. “Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets.”

A resurgence of COVID has closed more than half the cinemas in China, so the opening numbers are not as high as they could have been, though the film did better on IMAX screens. The Crimes of Grindelwald earned $58 million in 2018; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 2016 earned $86 million.

Appeasing the Chinese censors is not new. China overtook the US as the largest film market in 2020, and its box office share is crucial to recouping the costs of making movies, especially since the collapse of the DVD market.

Hong Kong action crime thriller, Man on the Edge with stars Richie Ren and Simon Yam, which opened on April 15, earned $5.79 million in two days to take second place.

Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania clung to third place with a weekend take of $0.61 million for a cume of $7.44 million over two weeks. The film has been streaming on Amazon Prime in many territories since August 2021, and its disappointing performance could be attributed to widespread pirating. HT3 made $32.7 million in 2018.

In fourth place is Escape Room: Tournament of Champion (the sequel to Escape Room), which was already released in many territories last July, earned $0.26 million; the total in China is now $6.22 million.

Bollywood film Drishyam, which opened on April 15, rounded out the top five with $0.36 million in 2 days.

Moonfall with Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson came in No. 6 with a weekend take of $0.20 million for a cume of $20.25 million in 23 days. Chinese studio Huayi Brothers Media is an executive producer on the film and has Chinese distribution rights. The film flopped in the US, another example of China bailing out domestic underperformers.

Sony’s The Batman, which had an opening weekend of $11.8 million in March, and was the biggest Hollywood film to open in China in 2022, came in seventh place, earning $0.16 million over the weekend, with a cumulative take of $22.36 million in 30 days. The last five Marvel films, including Spiderman: No Way Home, an enormous success worldwide, were denied a China release. Spiderman: Far From Home was the last Marvel movie to be released in China in 2019. The ban includes both Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals.

One of the reasons for the ban is to boost local production. In that respect, the propaganda film The Battle at Lake Changjin II, the sequel to the phenomenal hit of the same name, has proved that Hollywood films have cooled at the box office in recent years, especially since there was not much product during COVID times. Released on February 1, it has grossed over $637 million in China in 75 days and is the second-highest grosser of 2022. Chinese comedy Too Cool to Kill is still going strong after 75 days, grossing $411.60, with a weekend average of $0.04 million. It comes in at No. 13.

Other reasons for the censor board to reject Hollywood films are subjects that are perceived to be violations of its values or image. Chang-Chi, ostensibly made to earn cash in the Chinese market, was rejected because its source material is considered racist and stereotypical. As for Eternals, director Chloe Zhao’s statements on China likely were the reason for the denial. 

Sony’s action-adventure Uncharted starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg comes in just above Changjin II at No. 10, earning $0.13 million, for a total take of $17.71 million. It was the first film to displace it from the No. 1 spot.