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After 60 years in the movie world, Jackie Chan is still a blockbuster. The Hong Kong action legend added a new chapter to his storied career this weekend with his latest action movie, Drive onfended off competition from the Japanese anime hit Suzume and Universal Pictures’ The Super Mario Bros. movie to win the weekend in China.
Directed by Larry Yang and produced by Alibaba Pictures, Drive on stars Chan as a washed-up stuntman battling debt collection agencies for ownership of his stunt horse. The movie opened to $11.7 million, topping Suzume‘s $8 million achievement and SuperMario‘s muted $6.3 shows, according to data from Artisan Gateway. Drive onwhich also stars Liu Haocun, Kevin Guo and Wu Jing is on its way to a career of over $30 million.
The Super Mario Bros. movie exceeded expectations and set a number of box-office records in North America and several other international markets over the long Easter holiday weekend. But in China, where American films struggled this year, the film disappointed commercially, even though it earned rave social scores (9.4 at Maoyan and 9.5 at Taopiaopiao). Universal set the film up nicely with a launch on Wednesday, April 5, the national holiday of China’s Qingming Festival. But the film was hand-beaten by a few holdovers: Suzume earned $7.6 million and Chinese family drama Hachiko taken
$5.4 million while Super Mario only earned $4.7 million. Mario‘s modest loot amounted to the biggest opening day for a Hollywood animation since the start of the pandemic and the second-biggest day for a US studio film in 2023 – but that’s not saying much given how badly Hollywood movies have fared in China lately. have done .
In North America, SuperMario earned $204.6 million over the five-day weekend. Not so long ago, in the years leading up to the pandemic, strong IP-driven Hollywood tentpoles often made as much or more in China as they do at home in the US. The Chinese ticketing app that Maoyan is currently projecting SuperMario to end its run in China at $17.5 million (although the film’s strong social scores could help it maintain a somewhat stronger hold).
Japanese anime master Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume, meanwhile continued its sensational run in China, earning $8 million in its third weekend and sailing to $102.6 million in total. The film is likely to earn more than $110 million, setting a new all-time high-water mark for Japanese animation in China.