Italian
Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” debuted in pole position at the mainland China box office ending the four-week reign of “Her Story” at the top.
Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway showed “Mufasa: The Lion King” bowing with RMB56.1 million ($8 million).
In second place, superstar Donnie Yen‘s Hong Kong action-drama “The Prosecutor” from Maoyan Pictures earned $7.1 million for a $18 million cumulative total in the Middle Kingdom. In “The Prosecutor,” action icon Yen steps into the role of Fok Chi Ho, a former elite police special forces officer who trades his badge for a courtroom. Yen’s Fok becomes a prosecutor tasked with handling the case of Ma Ka Kit (rising star Mason Fung), a struggling young man entangled in a drug trafficking charge. Despite questionable circumstances, Ma is pressured into a plea deal that results in a harsh sentence. Driven by his instincts, Fok begins to dig deeper into the case, uncovering a labyrinthine conspiracy that threads through Hong Kong’s criminal underworld and its upper echelons of power.
In third position, concert film “Jason Zhang Brilliance Tour,” from Shanghai Jiwu Culture, debuted with $5.7 million.
Popular on Variety Emperor Motion Pictures’ “The Last Dance” collected $5.1 million in fourth place and has a cumulative total of $18.5 million. Directed by up-and-coming Hong Kong filmmaker Anselm Chan, the film follows a cash-strapped former wedding planner and a stern old Taoist priest who become unlikely partners in the funeral business. It boasts an all-star cast headed by Cantonese comedy icons Dayo Wong (“Table for Six”) and Michael Hui (“Security Unlimited,” “Where the Wind Blows”).
Maxtimes Pictures “Her Story” slid down to the fifth position with $4 million for a cumulative total of $96.6 million. 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.
The nationwide weekend box office was $36.9 million and the year-to-date running total is $5.8 billion. That is still 21.5% below the same point in 2023.
