'Aladdin' tops box office while nostalgia films make their marks

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The Chinese box office witnesses an earning of 505 million yuan (73 million U.S. dollars) in the week to Sunday (May 26), an increase of nearly 20 percent from the previous week.

Disney's live-action "Aladdin," as many expected, held the champion title as it grabbed 11.5 million U.S. dollars in revenue, according to Maoyan, China's biggest ticketing platform. It made it just two days after it was put into cinema.

A poster for "Aladdin." /Photo via Douban.com

It was not a great week for newly-released movies since except for "Aladdin," all the other four movies among the top five were "old faces."

"Pokemon Detective Pikachu" came as the runner-up, closely followed by "A Dog's Journey." Although "Avengers: Endgame" had already started to cool down, it still managed to get nearly 4.4 million U.S. dollars this week, ranking No.4. Lebanese tear-jerker "Capernaum" landed the fifth.

Memories of youth warm the cinema

Plenty of Chinese audiences went to the cinema last week for the memory of their youthhood because of the release of two movies – "Mayday Life" and "Dragon Ball Super: Broly."

"Mayday Life" is a documentary about popular Chinese rock band Mayday. It came as the sixth in terms of box office revenues, which was 3.1 million U.S. dollars.

A poster for "Mayday Life." /Photo via Douban.com

Recurring the highlights of the band's 122 live concerts from 2017 to 2019, the film is considered as a big gift for Mayday's fans. Twenty years have passed since the rock band released their first album. Their music has accompanied many through their youth. Many say this film also brings some thoughts as to how we should spend our life.

The movie has scored 8.7 out of 10 on Douban.com – one of the most influential film review websites in China. But a certain number of audiences on social media complaint that the film is more of a concert than a movie since it lacks in the storyline.

A poster for "Dragon Ball Super: Broly." /Photo via Douban.com

As the 20th film in the Dragon Ball franchise, "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" earned 2.1 million U.S. dollars, ranking the eighth. It's a story about adventure, struggle, passion and friendship.

The Dragon Ball series is best characterized for a fierce fistfight, and there's no exception for "Dragon Ball Super: Broly." Some say the nearly one-hour continuous fighting is appealing to younger audiences but a bit too much for older movie-goers.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters – possible the next top-grossing movie

A poster for "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." /Photo via Douban.com

American Monster film "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is set to hit the cinema this Friday. But it has already joined into the box office battle since the limited release has grabbed over two million U.S. dollars. That has helped it squeezed into the top 10 list for last week.

A sequel to the 2014 film "Godzilla," the movie follows the efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters.

Epic special effects scenes, glamorous casting line-up and pitched battles between monsters have all together promoted it as one of the most anticipated films in 2019.

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." /Hong Xing Xin Wen Photo

Celebrated Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi also has a role in the film.

A colorful week ahead for children

Saturday marks the International Children's Day, and a number of animations catered to the kids are scheduled to hit the cinema.

"Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of the Moon Exploration" is set to be shown on June 1 here in China. The movie starts with Nobita saw the white shadow on the moon and believed that is the rabbit on the moon. With the help of Doraemon, Nobita and his little fellows traveled to the Moon Rabbit Kingdom.

A poster for "Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of the Moon Exploration." /Photo via Douban.com

It's the 39th installment of the Doraemon feature films.

British animation "Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie", Chinese domestic animations "Happy Little Submarine: Space Pals" and "Qiaohu and the Fantastic Flying Ship" will also be released later this week.