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Early Prosperity Over Chinese Box Office

Four Chinese films dominated the global box office charts over the weekend, with combined takings of $350 million earned over just two days. And, as North America watched the Super Bowl instead, the weekend’s top Hollywood title, Argylle earned just $15.9 million worldwide. By K Dass.

YOLO, a comedy drama centered around weight loss and self-discovery, reigned supreme as the top-earning film worldwide for a second consecutive weekend. During the weekend, YOLO raked in a whopping $86.5 million (equivalent to RMB 614 million), bringing its cumulative total to $402 million (approximately RMB 2.85 billion) over nine days. This film, directed by Jia Ling (known for the 2021 Lunar New Year hit Hi, Mom), has maintained its number one position since the second day of the Chinese New Year holidays, narrowly surpassing the racing comedy Pegasus 2.

Here’s a snapshot of the other Chinese films that made waves at the box office during the same weekend:

· Pegasus 2: Earned $80.6 million, accumulating a total of $356 million.

· Article 20: The Zhang Yimou-directed legal comedy climbed to third place in both the Chinese and global weekend charts, grossing $70.2 million over the weekend. Its 9-day cumulative total stands at $207 million.

· Boonie Bears: Time Twist: Slipped to fourth place in the Chinese weekend chart and fifth globally, adding $52 million to its 9-day cumulative of $209 million.

Sony Pictures has acquired international distribution rights to YOLO, a mainland Chinese comedy film released in China on the first day of the Lunar New Year. However, details on North American or international release strategies have not yet been revealed.

While these films dominated the global box office, North America was preoccupied with the Super Bowl, and the top Hollywood title, Argylle, earned… well, let’s just say it didn’t quite reach the same heights as our Chinese contenders.

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