Spiderman: Far From Home

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

WTH MCU? Again?

MAY 31, 2019 9:16AM PT
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ to Open in China on June 28, Ahead of U.S.
By DAVE MCNARY
Film Reporter
@Variety_DMcNary



China has set a June 28 launch for Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” five days ahead of the film’s North American launch.

China was by far the top international market for 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” with $116 million. The Tom Holland vehicle launched there two months after nearly every other territory.

“Far From Home” will open one week before China begins its unofficial summer blackout on imported movies. Holland reprises his role as Peter Parker, who goes to Europe on a vacation that’s halted when spymaster Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) shows up to deal with several creature attacks that are plaguing the continent.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home,” directed by Jon Watts from a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, brings back cast members Zendaya as MJ, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Jon Favreau as Harold “Happy” Hogan, and Jacob Batalon as Parker’s best friend. The enigmatic Mysterio is portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Sony saw strong results when it released “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” its latest installment of the hit superhero franchise, in the summer of 2017. The movie grossed $334.2 million in North American and hauled in $880.1 million worldwide.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is presented by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Studios/Pascal Pictures. Producers are Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.

[GeneChing]

Well, that's a good reason to open in PRC first.

We saw the screener last week and will drop an exclusive fight-focused review tomorrow. Stay tuned.

JULY 1, 2019 2:03AM PT
China Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Nets $97 Million Debut
By REBECCA DAVIS


CREDIT: COURTESY OF SONY

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” swung into the China box office with a $97.2 million opening weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway — the fourth best debut of all time for a superhero film in the territory, behind April’s “Avengers: Endgame,” last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Venom.” The June 28 China release came days before its scheduled July 2 North American opening.

The haul makes the new Jon Watts-directed take on the web-slinging schoolboy Sony’s second highest-ever grossing title in China, and the seventh best all time opening for a studio film in the Middle Kingdom. The sequel to 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” it has earned 46% more in its debut than its predecessor, and 17% more than “Captain Marvel.” Of the weekend total, $10.8 million came from its appearance on 620 Imax screens.

“Endgame” exited theaters in China about a month ago with a massive $614 million haul — a sign of how deep the Marvel fandom runs in the region — but Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan is currently predicting that “Far From Home” will take in a much more modest $181 million (RMB1.24 billion).

Japanese animated classic “Spirited Away” continued to soar pass “Toy Story 4” in both films’ second theatrical weekend. The nearly 20-year-old Studio Ghibli film came in second at the box office by once again earning more than double the Disney/Pixar title. It earned $11.7 million to the latter’s $5.2 million and brought its cumulative take to $54.5 million. “Toy Story 4” stands on $24.2 million after ten days in Chinese theaters. It is the first time this Hayao Miyazaki-directed film has had the chance to hit the Chinese big screen.

Chinese romantic comedy “My Best Summer” tied for fourth with local horror film “Mortal Ouija,” with both taking in $1.4 million over the weekend. Local Chinese fare has been particularly sparse and weak in recent weeks, and censors have made matters worse by cracking down on top titles that could have made a splash. Hong Kong director Derek Tsang’s youth drama “Better Days” was scheduled to open this past weekend, but had its debut abruptly cancelled just days before — leaving the playing field wide open for the charms of “Spider-Man.”

Another interesting entry at the box office this month has been the Russian sports drama “Going Vertical,” also known in English as “Three Seconds,” a 2017 feature that tells the story of the Soviet national basketball team’s controversial win over the U.S. at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Directed by Anton Megerdichev, it is Russia’s top grossing film of all time.

In China, it has been met with rave reviews online, receiving a 9.6 and 9.4 out of 10 from users on the country’s top ticketing platforms Maoyan and Tao Piaopiao, respectively, with a number writing of how audiences broke out into spontaneous applause. Coming seventh at the box office Monday afternoon, despite 19 days already in theaters, it has grossed $12 million (RMB82.9 million) so far — making it one of Russia’s most successful films ever in the Middle Kingdom, a country that has so far seen few breakout sports genre hits.

[GeneChing]

Our Exclusive Fight-focused review. READ SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME and Looking for Spider-Fu by Patrick Lugo

[GeneChing]

Didn't see that one coming. We don't have a thread on White Storm. Anyone see either of these?

ASIA JULY 8, 2019 12:35AM PT
China Box Office: ‘White Storm 2’ Dominates as ‘Spider-Man’ Loses Grip
By REBECCA DAVIS


CREDIT: COURTESY OF UNIVERSE INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS

The Andy Lau- and Louis Koo-starring Hong Kong action film “White Storm 2: The Drug Lords” was the third highest grossing film in the world this weekend thanks to a strong $62.4 million China opening. It far outstripped other Chinese and U.S. content in Chinese theaters.

Directed by Herman Yau and produced by Lau, the film tells the story of the chaos that ensues after a former triad member turned philanthropist offers a large bounty in exchange for the life of Hong Kong’s top drug dealer. Though it shares a name with 2013’s “The White Storm,” which also starred Louis Koo, it is a standalone story. That earlier film was directed by Benny Chan and went on to earn around $35 million (RMB238 million) in China.

This installment’s three-day haul more than doubled the second weekend performance of Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which came in second with $29.8 million, according to data from Artisan Gateway. The weekend haul was down 69% from its opening session. Nevertheless, the web-slinging hero has rapidly brought in a total of $166 million at the China box office, making the Jon Watts-directed feature the third highest-grossing Hollywood studio film so far this year in the mega-territory.

Both films benefited from the absence of “The Eight Hundred,” a blockbuster war-action film from Huayi Brothers. The film was scheduled to have released this weekend, but it was abruptly pulled from its opening slot at the Shanghai festival last month and halted before it got to commercial theaters after being criticized by an influential Communist think tank.

Other top films this weekend were mostly animated titles. Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2” ranked third in China with a $10.3 million debut — putting it roughly on par with the China debut of “Toy Story 4,” which underperformed against expectations late last month with an opening weekend of just $13.2 million. The first film in the “Pets” franchise hit Chinese theaters in 2016 and made $58.3 million.

Studio Ghibli’s nearly 20-year-old animated “Spirited Away” continued to hold its own, coming in fourth at the box office with $4.2 million. It has now earned a cumulative $65.5 million in China, more than double the $25.2 million “My Neighbor Totoro” — another beloved Hayao Miyazaki-helmed classic — earned when it was released theatrically there in December.

Chinese animated feature “Lolipop in Fantasy” took in $3.1 million in its opening weekend, edging it ahead of Toy Story 4, which made just $1.03 million (RMB7.06 million). The Disney/Pixar sequel has made a cumulative total of $28.2 million (RMB193 million) so far — putting it not that much further ahead than the $17.1 million (RMB117 million) score gross of “Toy Story 3,” which came out nearly a decade ago at a time when China’s theatrical market was far smaller and less developed.

THREADS
The Eight Hundred
Spiderman: Far From Home