‘Terminator: Genisys’ ends China film blackout, opens with $27 million

Ending a two-month blackout period for foreign films, “Terminator: Genisys” entered mainland Chinese movie theaters on Sunday, taking in $27 million on its opening day, Paramount Pictures said.

The box office for the film was robust for a Sunday opening, particularly given that the movie had been released in other territories in early July. Mainland moviegoers have been starved for fresh offerings since early August as Chinese authorities kept up their domestic-film protection period. The movie took in another $10 million on Monday, Paramount said.

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The Arnold Schwarzenegger movie earned $89 million stateside. Schwarzenegger had traveled to China earlier in the year to stoke interest in the film.

Last week’s top film, for the second week running, was “Go Away, Mr. Tumor,” based on the real-life story of a Chinese cartoonist battling terminal cancer. The Wanda Pictures film has now earned a total of $66 million.

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The new debut “Bride Wars” from Bona Film Group earned $23.6 million in its first four days in cinemas. The film is remake of the 2009 American film starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway.

In fourth place was the summer box-office smash “Monster Hunt,” directed by DreamWorks Animation veteran Raman Hui. The film added $18.1 million to its overall take and has now hauled in $364.3 million, Artisan said; it may yet still overtake “Furious 7” to become the all-time box-office champ in China.

In fifth place for the week was the local romance “Cities in Love,” which opened with $7.9 million as China marked Qixi, the local equivalent of Valentine’s Day.

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