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‘Rampage’ hits big in China’s box office

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Warner Bros’ action-adventure “Rampage,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, dominated China’s box office, raking in $55.5 million in its first three days and accounting for nearly half of the country’s box office grosses last week.

The film performed much better than Johnson’s last release in the Middle Kingdom, “Jumanji,” which opened with $39.8 million, according to the film consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

Although “Rampage” did well in ticket sales, young Chinese moviegoers gave it lukewarm reviews. On the Chinese film-rating website Douban, it scored 6.8 out of 10 based on a pool of 21,736 audience members, slightly lower than “Jumanji” (which came in at 7 out of 10). Most comments criticized the film for its overt focus on special effects at the expense of a strong storyline.

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Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” slid to second place after topping the box office in the previous two weeks, pulling in an additional $29.6 million for a total gross of $192.4 million in its third week in cinemas. The film has a good chance of becoming one of China’s top 10 imports of all time.

In third place was the Indian import “Hindi Medium,” an education-themed comedy. The film’s gross dropped 62.7% last week to $8 million for $29.4 million after 12 days in theaters.

Skydance Productions’ “Annihilation,” overshadowed by “Rampage,” came in fourth last week with a disappointing $6.1 million after three days. The sci-fi thriller starring Natalie Portman has failed to impress Chinese filmgoers, who considered it inferior to other recent sci-fi titles.

The domestic crime thriller “Wrath of Silence” was the only Chinese language film on the top five list. It earned $2.2 million for $8 million after 12 days.

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