China Box Office: ‘Resident Evil’ Holds Top Spot for Fourth Straight Frame as 2014’s ‘John Wick’ Debuts in Third — SkimNews
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- Resident Evil topped mainland China for a fourth straight weekend, grossing $4.3 million (RMB 28.5 million) from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 and $71.3 million since its Oct. 5 Golden Week launch; Deadline's global box office tracker puts the franchise at $400 million worldwide.
- Traces of Justice held second with $3.9 million in its fifth weekend and $98.5 million since its Oct. 1 rollout; the New Classics Pictures drama, directed by Chen Sicheng and co-written with Zhang Ji and Yan Zijie, follows an elite public security detective solving historical cases based on real events.
- John Wick opened in third for $2.3 million over three days, 12 years after its 2014 global release, with China Film Group handling the release; Huayi Bros, the original rights buyer, had called the film too violent for China in 2014, and regulators rejected it in 2015.
- Keanu Reeves' work was pulled from Chinese streaming platforms after he joined a 2022 Tibet House U.S. benefit concert; his franchise returned to Chinese cinemas with 'Chapter 4' and spinoff 'Ballerina' in 2025, while 'Chapter 2' and 'Chapter 3' have yet to be released there.
- Mr. & Mrs. Pardon climbed to fourth with $2 million, lifting its cumulative gross to $59 million; the Beijing Joy Fun Pictures body-swap comedy stars Shen Chunyang and Xiao Shenyang as a bickering middle-aged couple.
- Once Upon a Time in the Middle East finished fifth with $900,000 in its twelfth weekend, yet its $356.9 million total since Aug. 11 makes it the biggest earner of the five films.
- China's overall weekend gross slipped to $18.2 million in a quiet post-holiday fall corridor, with 2026 year-to-date box office of $4.73 billion down 29.0% from the same period in 2025.
Why it matters: Regulators rejected 'John Wick' in 2015, and Huayi Bros had called it too violent for China in 2014; yet China Film Group released it and it took $2.3 million in three days to open in third. The market backdrop is weaker: 2026 year-to-date box office of $4.73 billion is 29% below the same period in 2025.
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