China Box Office: ‘Once Upon a Time in the Middle East’ Secures Sixth Weekend at No. 1 in Sluggish Frame — SkimNews
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- "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" topped mainland China's box office for a sixth consecutive weekend with RMB28.1 million ($4.1 million), pushing its cumulative gross to $325.7 million since launching nationwide on Aug. 11.
- Pearl River Film Group's "V" held second place in its fifth weekend with $2.8 million, lifting its total to $89.6 million in the crime thriller led by Tony Ka Fai Leung and Zhu Yilong.
- Universal's "The Odyssey" climbed back to third with $1.9 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its mainland China cumulative to $106.5 million.
- Pearl Studio's "All Wishes Come True!" moved to fourth in its tenth frame with $1.7 million, accumulating $286.3 million since release.
- Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" re-entered the top five with $800,000 in its eighth weekend, lifting its cume to $232.5 million since its July 29 rollout and retaining status as 2026's top-earning international import in the territory.
- Mainland China's overall weekend gross dropped to a quiet $15 million ahead of the National Day corridor, with 2026 year-to-date box office at $4.29 billion — down 29.2% versus the same period in 2025.
Why it matters: The 29.2% year-to-date collapse against 2025 is the buried headline beneath the per-film rankings: a single dominant local title ($325.7M for 'Once Upon a Time in the Middle East') plus one strong Hollywood import ($232.5M for 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day') are propping up a market that has otherwise contracted sharply with the National Day holiday corridor yet to open.
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