CHINA BOX OFFICE DROPS TO $4.4 BILLION IN
2022 AMID COVID SWINGS, LACK OF PRODUCT
China’s box office in 2022 dropped 36% versus
2021, reaching a little over RMB30 billion ($4.35
billion). According to Chinese state media, citing
figures from the China Film Administration, 85% of
the 2022 revenue was generated by local movies,
led by “The Battle at Lake Changjin Ⅱ” with
RMB4.07 billion ($636 million at historical rats, per
Comscore). This past weekend, James Cameron’s
“Avatar: The Way of Water” became the highest-
grossing studio Import of the year, overtaking
“Jurassic World Dominion” with an estimated
$152.8 million through Sunday.
The market was severely impacted by COVID-
related issues across the year, including extended
lockdowns in various cities and a rollercoaster of
the number of cinemas open. More recently,
China lifted its zero-COVID policy witch resulted
in its own set of problems as infections surged and
audiences were concerned about leaving their
homes.
At the same time, China was very limited in
granting entry to the market for Hollywood films;
there still hasn't been a Marvel title since
“Avengers: Endgame” in 2019.
Also factoring were short lead times for marketing
and promotion with notification of dates, even for
local films in some cases, coming too close to
releases.
As the year came to a close, one potential hit,
Alibaba’s “Post Truth,” was moved off od its
December 31 data.
Up ahead, there’s some concern about the typically
lucrative Chinese New Year holiday which falls
early in 2023, officially beginning January 22.
Maoyan currently lists “The Wondering Earth 2” on
that data, the sequel to 2019’s sci-fi adventure
blockbuster, while there are other potential
breakouts, though a question remains over the
COVID situation. Still, the past weekend was
encouraging as “Avatar: Way of Water” saw a 42%
increase from the previous session.
The market’s Top 5 movies in 2022were all local
with “The Battle at Lake Changjin Ⅱ” followed by
sci-fi comedy “Moon Man,” comedy “Too Cool to
Kill,” family drama “Lightning Up the Stars” and
thriller “Home Coming,” according to ComScore
data.
Following “Avatar: Way of Water” and “Jurassic
World Dominion,” the best studio performers were
“The Bad Guys,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”.
TOP 20 FILMS BY ADMISSIONS IN CHINA
1.１９５０ 水門橋決戦 (🇨🇳) 82,164,983人
2.月で始まるソロライフ (🇨🇳) 74,229,476人
3.トゥ・クール・トゥ・キル 殺せない殺し屋
(🇨🇳) 54,305,360人
4.星明かりを見上げれば (🇨🇳) 42,321,749人
5.Home Coming (🇨🇳) 37,749,473人
6.素晴らしき眺め (🇨🇳) 29,686,992人
7.熊出没 バック・トゥ・アース大作戦
(🇨🇳) 20,898,712人
8.神探大戦 (🇨🇳🇭🇰) 18,704,907人
9.未来戦記 (🇨🇳) 16,407,621人
10.アバター：ウェイ・オブ・ウォーター (🇺🇸)
14,677,904人
11.ジュラシック・ワールド／新たなる支配者
(🇺🇸) 13,579,697人
12.Sniper (🇨🇳) 13,531,375人
13.新封神演義・楊せん (🇨🇳) 13,146,678人
14.Give Me Five (🇨🇳) 13,064,800人
15.Only Fools Rush In (🇨🇳) 10,159,303人
16.バッドガイズ (🇺🇸) 9,876,830人
17.Embrace Again (🇨🇳) 6,908,768人
18.ミニオンズ フィーバー (🇺🇸) 6,813,574人
19.The Fallen Bridge (🇨🇳) 5,757,491人
20.宇宙から来たモーツァルト (🇨🇳) 5,506,510人
SOURCE：VARIETY, COMSCORE