Jackie Chan’s comedy action film “Skiptrace” jumped to a $60 million four day opening in China, where it bounced far ahead of fellow openers and holdovers alike.
The film released on Thursday (July 21) and charged off to a $14.7 million opening day. Over the Friday to Sunday period it took a further $44.0 million, according to data from Ent Group. That three-day total is within $1 million of the global total of $44.7 million for “The Legend of Tarzan” which took the worldwide weekend crown according to U.S. tracking service ComScore.
The success of “Skiptrace” not only reconfirms Chan’s enduring star power, it also substantially justifies his role as a force behind the scenes as a producer. Chan has personally nurtured this buddy comedy cum China travelogue project for many years, enduring changes of financier, co-star and director along the way.
In the end “Skiptrace” was directed by Renny Harlin, who now calls Beijing his home. Hailing from Finland, by way of Hollywood, Harlin has a forward deal with a Chinese financier and has his next movie set up with Alibaba Pictures Group.
In China, “Tarzan” opened on Tuesday (July 19) and topped the charts for two days. Over the Friday to Sunday period “Tarzan” earned $12.0 million. Its six day cumulative is $22.5 million. On the days the two leaders went head to head “Skiptrace” enjoyed market share in excess of 56%, while “Tarzan” was capped at 16%, according to data from CBO.
Third place went to Friday opener, Japanese animation “Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan.” Over its first three days it clocked a healthy $8.14 million.
In fourth was “One Night Only,” a comedy crime tale starring Aaron Kwok, who also leads previous chart topper “Cold War.” “One Night” earned $3.89 million in three days
Fifth was “Big Fish and Begonia,” a Chinese cartoon in its third week. It managed $3.40 million for a 17 day cumulative of $79.7 million.
"Cold War,” the Hong Kong crime action film, lost most of its screens to make way for “Skiptrace.” Consequently, it plummeted from first to sixth and saw its weekend score collapse from $15.8 million to $3.02 million. After 17 days it stands on $96.8 million.
"When Larry Met Mary” was another steep faller. It took $1.92 million for seventh place. After 10 days it has a cumulative of $25.7 million. “Chinese animation “Bobby The Hedgehog” managed $1 million in its opening three days.
"Baahubali,” the 2015 smash hit South Indian fantasy action film, opened on Saturday (July 23) and managed an opening $540,000 in two days. That was good enough for ninth place.