China box office: ‘The Jungle Book’ dominates with nearly $49-million opening weekend

Reporting from Beijing — “The Jungle Book” swung to a $48.8-million opening weekend in China as the Disney film enjoyed a day-and-date opening with the United States and many other markets.

The live-action/CGI update of the 1967 animated classic accounted for about 49% of all tickets sold in China in the seven days ending Sunday, according to data from film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

“Jungle Book” has taken in about $290 million worldwide to date, according to comScore, including more than $100 million in its first three days in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

In second place last week in China was “London Has Fallen,” which has claimed the runner-up spot for two weeks in a row. The Millennium Films action movie earned $21 million last week, bringing its cumulative gross in China to $45.6 million.

Domestic films rounded out the rest of the top five spots. After several strong weeks, the crime caper “Chongqing Hot Pot” saw a sharp drop-off in attendance but hung in at third place, with $7.2 million in tickets sold; the movie has earned a total of $55.2 million over 17 days, Artisan said.

The new release “Lost in White,” a cop drama starring Tony Leung and Tong Dawei as two policemen who must figure out the truth behind a corpse found in a frozen river, debuted in fourth place with $4.2 million.

Edko Film’s “My Beloved Bodyguard,” starring Andy Lau, held on to fifth place.

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