‘xXx: The Return of Xander Cage’ dominates China’s box office

Vin Diesel’s “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” dominated China’s box office last week, as foreign films regained their strength after a temporary ban during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Hollywood action film opened Friday with $20.3 million in ticket receipts, almost three times the size of its opening in North America. It racked up $61.4 million in three days, which is even more than North America’s total in the last four weeks, according to film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

Besides Diesel in the title role, Chinese kung-fu star Donnie Yen and pop sensation Wu Yifan helped the film woo Chinese audiences. The movie is expected to gross a total of $145 million in China.

Jackie Chan’s action comedy “Kung-Fu Yoga” grabbed the second spot with $49.6 million last week, down 64% from the prior week. Its 16-day total reached $227.6 million.

“Duckweek,” the film of Chinese writer-turned-director Han Han, took third with $37.4 million in its third week running. It’s 16-day total hit $128.3 million.

Fourth place went to Stephan Chow’s “Journey to The West: Demon Chapter.” The fantasy comedy earned $27.6 million last week, bringing its 16-day total to $231.7 million. That makes it the highest-grossing film in China so far this year.

The animation “Boonie Bears: Entangled Worlds,” produced by Le Vision Pictures, came in fifth for the third week in a row. It earned $13.9 million last week, making its 16-day total $70 million.

Yingzhi Yang is a special correspondent.