Constantin Film and Sony Pictures' latest iteration of the zombie-filled franchise, Resident Evil, successfully captured the top position at the Chinese box office, pulling in RMB81.2 million (approximately $12.1 million) over the three-day frame. The film, which is based on the popular video game series, launched on Monday, October 5, towards the tail end of the country's major Golden Week holiday, and has since accumulated a robust $40.7 million in total earnings.
This strong performance saw Resident Evil dethrone New Classics Pictures' crime procedural drama, Traces of Justice, which moved to second place in its second weekend. Directed by Chen Sicheng, the period investigation drama added $8.3 million to its coffers, bringing its cumulative total to $73.4 million since its October 1 debut.
The overall market, however, reflected a notable decline in theatrical traffic as China moved past the National Day holiday rush. The total weekend box office for mainland China dropped to $30.8 million, a clear indication of the post-holiday normalization. Artisan Gateway data further illustrates this trend, noting that year-to-date box office revenue stands at $4.63 billion, trailing the same period last year by 29.4%.
Rounding out the top five, Beijing Joy Fun Pictures' family body-swap comedy Mr. & Mrs. Pardon secured third place, generating $5.7 million over the weekend for a cumulative gross of $43.6 million. CMC Pictures' revenge thriller sequel Go for Broke 2 landed in fourth, adding $1 million for a total of $7.9 million. Remarkably, Dirty Monkeys' war comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, China's entry for the Oscars' international feature category, continued its impressive run in its ninth weekend, taking in an additional $800,000 to push its cume to a staggering $353 million since its August 11 opening.