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China Box Office February 5, 2023

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is another Marvel movie that will release in China on March 17, day and date with North America, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

This will be the third Marvel movie to be released this year along with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on February 7 and Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania on February 17 after an almost four-year ban.

This Shazam! is a sequel to the one released in 2019 and stars Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler. The first one grossed $43.8 million in China.

While the Covid wave still continues in China, its box office has rebounded since the Lunar New Year holiday week starting January 22, the peak moviegoing and travel season in the country. The box office grosses for the holiday week were just shy of $1 billion, according to Dengta Database, a company that tracks box office sales in real-time.

Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish are still on the top ten list.

Here are the top ten films for the weekend of February 3-5, 2023.

The Wandering Earth 2 ended the weekend in the top spot although Full Red River barely edged it out on Friday. WE2, the sci-fi disaster film with Andy Lau, Wu Jing and Li Xuejian, grossed $497.66 million over 15 days, with $55.77 million earned over the weekend.

The Frant Gwo-directed film is about the heroic efforts of a crew to move the earth out of its orbit to a new solar system because of the danger of being obliterated by the dying sun. The film has earned about $3.5 million in North America where it was released in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Director Zhang Yimou’s Full River Red (Man Jiang Hong) is at no. 2 with $590.47 million in 15 days, with $49.49 million grossed over the weekend. The film is a historical suspense movie starring Shen Teng and Jackson Yee that deals with treachery in the Southern Song dynasty.

Boonie Bears: Guardian Code, the ninth animated sci-fi comedy in the franchise, stayed at no. 3 with a total of $186.19 million over 15 days, and $20.73 million for the weekend. It is directed by Lin Yongchang and Shao Heqi.

The Deep Sea (Shenhai), a Chinese animated film directed by Tian Xiaopeng, rose to no. 4 with a total of $98.01 million over its 15-day run and a weekend take of $13.6 million. The film is an underwater fantasy story in 3D based on the POV of a young girl.

In fifth place is the World War II espionage thriller, Hidden Blade, grossing $115.68 million in 15 days and $11.39 million over the weekend. It stars superstar Tony Leung, Wang Yibo and Zhou Xun, and is directed by Cheng Er. The story is set during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and focuses on the intelligence agents who risked their lives to save the motherland.

New release Where the Wind Blows enters the list at no. 6 on Saturday. The film is a 2022 Hong Kong action crime thriller directed by Philip Yung and stars Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung as two cops in Hong Kong under British colonial rule in the 1960s as they grapple with corruption in the police force. The film grossed $4.44 million in one day of release. It is Hong Kong’s entry for the Oscars.

The Chinese comedy-fantasy Five Hundred Miles drops to no. 7 with $53 million over 15 days. The story is of the fantastic journey of two estranged friends and their opportunity to fix the friendship. It stars Lei Jia Lin and Zhang Xiao Fei and is directed by Lun Su.

Avatar: The Way of Water ends the weekend at no. 8 with a total of $246.01 million over 52 days.

Ping Pong of China, a sports film based on the true story of the comeback of the China men’s table tennis team at the 1995 World Table Tennis championships in Tianjin, and still in previews since last weekend, is at no. 9 with $6.49 million over nine days. Its official release date is February 17.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish rounds out the top ten with a total gross of $6.80 million over 45 days.