Stand By Me Doraemon, an animated film based on a popular Japanese manga series, looks poised to take the top spot at the Chinese box office as nine new titles open this week. According to EntGroup’s EFMT Marketing Index, Doraemon boasts the highest awareness and intent to purchase levels out of all of this week’s new releases. The animated flick has already earned more than $70 million in Japan and $46 million in Hong Kong. Two homegrown animated films—Happy Little Submarine Magic Box of Time and The Grow 2—will open as well, but expectations are low because of Doraemon’s strength.
Disney will send Tomorrowland to China this week following an underwhelming debut in North America. The sci-fi flick ranks second to Doraemon when it comes to awareness and intent to purchase levels on the EFMT Marketing Index. Hollywood’s science fiction titles have been mostly successful in China lately: Interstellar earned $122 million and Gravity tallied $72 million. One big recent miss is Transcendance: the Johnny Depp title flopped with only $20.4 million. The poor reviews that Tomorrowland has received from critics and the paying public alike concern us. We are anticipating modest theatrical returns in the Middle Kingdom.
Another Hollywood title also opens this week: Lionsgate’s I, Frankenstein. Expectations for the thriller are very low considering that it was released in North America back in January 2014 and it amassed a very weak global cume of $71.5 million.
Also opening: The Horizon of the Child, Dawn Break Up, Wonder Mama and Unmissable.
Phil Contrino & Jonathan Papish of Boxoffice.com contributed to this article.
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About EntGroup
EntGroup Consulting is the leading research and consulting company focusing on China’s entertainment industry. A member of ComInsight Information Alliance Group, EntGroup focuses on providing data and information, conducting market research, industry research, consulting, and organizing media conferences. We serve a wide range of clients in areas of film, TV, new media, entertainment marketing and animation.
EntGroup also operates an online portal for the entertainment industry— http://english.entgroup.cn
About EBOT
EBOT EntGroup Box Office Tracker is a database focusing on the entertainment industry. Created and managed by China's leading entertainment industry research institute, EntGroup, it provides statistics and analysis on film and TV industries, as well as insight on market trends and consumer behaviors. It is an essential tool for entertainment investors, financiers, film production companies, distributors and advertisers. EBOT integrates Box Office data and analysis, moviegoer surveys, advertising insight, buzz tracking and industry research reports.
For more information, please visit: http://english.entgroup.com.cn/enbase.html or contact
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