China Box Office: ‘Creation of the Gods’ Solidifies Lead With $57 Million Second Weekend as ‘Barbie’ Shows Its Legs
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms,” the first part of Wuershan’s big-budget “Fengshen Trilogy,” topped the mainland China box office for the second weekend and expanded its week-on-week haul by 35%. ‘Barbie’ also showed signs of resilience in a market where it opened a week earlier in a disappointing fifth place. “Creation of the Gods I” grossed $57.6 million.
according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That compares with $42.6 million in it opening frame and after 11 days in Chinese theaters, it has earned $156 million.
Also, unlike its first weekend, “Creation of the Gods” was the winner on each day between Friday and Sunday. The “Fengshen Trilogy” set out to be a mega scale blending of history, folklore and mythology from more than 3,000 years ago, that would be China’s answer to both “Lord of the Rings” and “Iron Man.” It counts of Barrie Osborne (“Lord of the Rings”) as production consultant and Bill Kong (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) among its executive producers.
The strong hold meant that it was a good distance ahead of “One and Only,” a youth which was the highest-ranked new release with a somewhat disappointing $36.2 million debut.
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