China Box Office: ‘Under the Light’ Keeps Weekend Chart Lead as Holiday Business Slumps
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Zhang Yimou-directed contemporary drama film “Under the Light” retained its top spot at the mainland China box office for a second weekend, but with numbers that dropped steeply, as macro-economic weakening led to a Golden Week of across the board disappointment.
Financial media Monday reported that consumers travelled less and spent less on leisure than had been forecast, likely reflecting general economic belt tightening, high unemployment and property sector worries.
Before the holidays, cinema ticketing firm Maoyan had forecast that the first three days would throw up box office of RMB1.5 billion (208 million) and that “Under the Light” alone would reach RMB2 billion ($278 million) by the end of the eight-day holiday season (Sept.
29-Oct. 6). Those estimates proved to be highly over-optimistic. The company now reports that the eight-day total box office amounted to RMB 2.734 billion from ticket sales of 65.1 million.
Read more on variety.com