China Box Office: ‘Her Story’ Claims Victory as ‘Gladiator II’ Opens in Fourth Place

“Her Story,” a comedy-drama film told from a largely female perspective, topped the mainland China box office on its first weekend of release. “Gladiator II,” opening the same weekend, placed fourth.

Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway showed “Her Story” earning RMB125 million ($17.5 million) between Friday and Sunday. Including previews, it has a cumulative of $21.7 million, making it one of the strongest openings in the recently-depressed autumn season.

The film is directed by Shao Yihui (2021’s “B For Busy”). Its fast-paced story focuses on two women – one a recently unemployed single mom, the other a new neighbor who is more troubled than she appears – who become friends. Together they face up to various relationship challenges, including an abusive ex-husband and new romantic possibilities.

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Japanese animation, “Crayon Shinchan: Our Dinosaur Story” released on Saturday and earned $8.8 million in two days. That was good enough for second position.

Third place belonged to the previous weekend winner “To Gather Around” (aka “Brave New World”). It earned $5.7 million, for a two-weekend cumulative of $21.7 million. Directed by Liu Xunximo and starring Deng Chao and Deng Jiajia, the film recounts the tale of an internet company employee who is caught up in workplace dispute. He joins forces with others to defend his rights but ends up in a bigger spiral of trouble.

“Gladiator II” scored RMB22.1 million ($3.1 million) over its three-day opening weekend in China. That performance represents a reversion to the struggles endured by many Hollywood films in China after a couple of VFX-heavy spectacles, “Alien: Romulus” and “Venom: The Last Dance” had been seen to buck the trend.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1” is the seventh ‘Harry Potter” rerelease open in China’s box office top five. It managed $2.2 million according to Artisan Gateway. Imax further explained that $650,000, or roughly 30% of that score, was earned on its screens.

The decent crop of new release titles swelled the nationwide weekend box office to $44.3 million and the year-to-date running total to $5.62 billion. That is still 21% below the same point in 2023.