Pegasus 3 Leads China Box Office; 2026 Down 52.9%
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- Pegasus 3 earned ¥77.7M ($10.9M) in its fourth weekend to retain the top spot, pushing its cumulative total to $596.8M since debut, according to Artisan Gateway data.
- Blades of the Guardians took second place with $5.8M, bringing its cumulative to $190.3M; the Yuen Woo-ping-directed martial arts epic is adapted from a popular manhua.
- Zhang Yimou's espionage thriller Scare Out, starring Jackson Yee and Zhu Yilong, held third with $4.3M added for a $182.1M cumulative.
- Sony's animated sports comedy GOAT debuted in fourth place with $3.1M.
- Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector rounded out the top five with $2.5M, lifting the Fantawild Animation 12th installment to a $146.1M cumulative.
- Mainland China's overall weekend grosses reached $33.5M, while 2026 year-to-date revenue stands at $1.58 billion — down 52.9% from the same period in 2025.
Why it matters: The 52.9% year-to-date collapse versus 2025 is the dominant fact: even with a $596.8M cumulative anchor like Pegasus 3, China's 2026 theatrical market is running at less than half last year's pace. Distributors, exhibitors, and Hollywood's China-facing slates are all operating against a sharply smaller revenue base, with overall weekend grosses at $33.5M underscoring how thin non-tentpole performance has become.
