Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Meg 2: The Trench,” the second instalment in the Chinese-financed giant shark franchise, was the top film worldwide over the weekend.
But in its China home market “Meg 2” was beaten by strong previews of “No More Bets.” Nevertheless, the arrival of two popular films at the top of the chart meant that China enjoyed its third highest box office weekend of the year, with a $185 million haul.
That score is the strongest weekend of 2023 outside the Chinese New Year holiday season. It also meant that China had a bigger weekend box office total than North America (estimated at $176 million by Comscore).
That is not unprecedented, but it is rare for a non-holiday weekend. “Meg 2” opened on Friday and earned $53.7 million (RMB381 million) over three days, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. “No More Bets” does not open officially until Wednesday, but it enjoyed wide previews from Saturday.
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