Fast X, which opened last weekend in China, continued to dominate the box office in the territory, with $113.86 million grossed over its run of 12 days and $18.18 million over the weekend.

While this tenth iteration of the franchise is not performing as well as its predecessors, the worldwide earnings of $270 million are significant as they are bailing out the film whose domestic earnings ($91 million so far) have slowed down. F9 grossed $215 million in China – almost 30% of its international earnings – and more than the domestic total of $173 million.

One more installment is due, Fast X Part II, in 2025.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid, however, opened with a whimper, barely making $3 million in its opening weekend. Cosmicbook.news is reporting that posters for the movie have been altered in China to hide the skin color of Ariel, played by Black actress Halle Bailey, making her look blue.

According to the website, racism against Black people in China is the reason. “Disney has a history of hiding its Black actors as they changed up the posters for both Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring John Boyega as Finn and actually hid the face of the late Chadwick Boseman behind a mask for the Black Panther release in China.”

Fans on Reddit and Twitter are expressing outrage at the alteration. Note that there was a backlash in the US against Bailey’s casting as well.

Here are the top ten films for the weekend of May 26-28, 2023.

Following Fast X, No. 2 on the box office charts on Sunday is the Chinese comedy Godspeed, which held its position from last week. The film has grossed $150.82 million so far over 31 days with a weekend gross of $7.01 million.

The film continues to resonate with Chinese fans with its story of a prospective son-in-law trying to win over his fiancée’s father as the family takes a road trip together. It is directed by Xiaoxing Yi and stars Yuan Chang, Chengcheng Fan and Li Ma.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stayed at No. 3 with $82.53 million grossed over 24 days and $5.08 million over the weekend.

Born to Fly ended in fourth place on Sunday though it fell to sixth place on Friday and Saturday. The film has now earned $120 million over 31 days and $2.55 million over the weekend, not quite the blockbuster the propaganda film was touted to be.

The film is the directorial debut of Liu Xiaoshi who previously made promos for the Chinese army. It stars Wang Yibo who started his career as a K-pop singer in the band Uniq, and Hu Jun as the leader of the team.

As mentioned above, Disney’s The Little Mermaid had a disappointing opening of $2.63 million over the three-day weekend and only managed to reach No. 5 on the charts, barely edging out the No. 6 movie by Sunday.

In sixth place is the Japanese animated film from 2022, Sword Art Online the Movie: Progressive – Scherzo of Deep Night. Based on the series of eight books “Sword Art Online: Progressive” by Reki Kawahara, this is a sequel to the first film released in 2021, Aria of a Starless Night.

The film is directed by Ayaka Kono and voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and Haruka Tomatsu, reprising their roles from the first movie.

Another new entry, the Chinese romance Awakening Spring, took seventh place with $0.95 million grossed over three days. The Mandarin-language film is directed by Wang Mu and stars Wang Ziwen and Yin Fang. It tells the story of two people who come together at low points in their lives and struggle to keep the relationship going.

At No. 8, the Japanese animated The First Slam Dunk continued to attract fans based on the manga series introduced in China 30 years ago. The basketball-themed story, written and directed by Takehiko Inoue, has grossed $95.71 million over 39 days.

The animated feature, Racing 72H, based on a well-known animated TV series about racing competitions, ended Sunday at No. 9. It has earned $7.72 million in 30 days. The film premiered at the Beijing International Film Festival in April.

Rounding out the top ten is the new family drama, A Summer Trip, which grossed $0.39 million over three days.

The Fabelmans entered the charts at No. 8 on Thursday and ended in sixteenth place on Sunday, grossing a total of $0.25 million over four days.

Source for all numbers: entgroup.cn