Oscar-winning 'Free Solo' climbs into China, 'Hobbs & Shaw' keeps lead
Hong Yaobin

"Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" continues its domination in Chinese theaters for a third week.

The first spin-off film in the "Fast & Furious" franchise snatched another 148.8 million yuan (nearly 21 million U.S. dollars), bringing its Chinese total up to 1.35 billion yuan (about 189 million U.S. dollars), according to Maoyan.com, China's leading movie-ticketing platform.

The Universal-backed action flick currently has passed the Hong Kong triad mob thriller "The White Storm 2: Drug Lords" to become the eighth highest grossing film this year at the China box office, and also ranks third in the franchise in the country.

Dwayne Johnson (L) and Jason Statham attend the "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" premiere in Beijing, China, August 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Dwayne Johnson (L) and Jason Statham attend the "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" premiere in Beijing, China, August 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Another familiar title on the current chart is animated phenomenon "Ne Zha." 

The China's record-breaking animated film, which hit cinemas in Australia and New Zealand late August, has reportedly become the highest-grossing Chinese movie in the past decade in these two territories.

"Ne Zha" remains a big draw at home, where it held second place after seven weeks on release. It earned another 92.8 million yuan (13 million U.S. dollars) this past week, boosting its domestic tally to over 4.8 billion yuan (over 674 million U.S. dollars).

A healing story is welcome

Animator Mutou attends the animation "The Legend of Hei" premiere in Beijing, China, September 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Animator Mutou attends the animation "The Legend of Hei" premiere in Beijing, China, September 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

At the third place was a new animated release – "The Legend of Hei," a prequel to the popular web cartoon series "The Legend of Luo Xiaohei," which follows the adventure of a supernatural black cat and the human family it lives with.

The feature-length film, which was theatrically released last Saturday, raked in nearly 43 million yuan (six million U.S. dollars), beating out the two aforementioned blockbusters to take the No.1 spot on its opening day.

Combining the Sunday gross, the animation launched with 83.6 million yuan (11.7 million U.S. dollars) during its opening weekend. The 101-minute film is at the helm of the creator of the original series Zhang Ping, who often goes by the name "Mutou" – which means the wood.

A screenshot shows the rating of "The Legend of Hei" on Douban.com.

A screenshot shows the rating of "The Legend of Hei" on Douban.com.

Online reviews have it ranked high with a score of 9.4 on Maoyan.com and 9.4 on Taopiaopiao.com – both are China's leading movie ticketing platforms – and 8.4 on Douban.com, a Rotten Tomato-like film rating website.

"The cute yet complex wonderland is so stunning, and I really hope to have such a special space. This short film shows us a complete world view. For me, it is the best domestic animation this year," read one of the short reviews.

Many users said the story is so heartwarming that viewers feel healed after watching the movie.

Multi-awards winner makes China debut

Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and legendary climber Alex Honnold attend the China premiere of Oscar-winning documentary "Free Solo" in Beijing, China, August 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and legendary climber Alex Honnold attend the China premiere of Oscar-winning documentary "Free Solo" in Beijing, China, August 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Fourth place belonged to the firefighter movie "The Bravest," which picked up 29.7 million yuan (4.2 million U.S. dollars) in its sixth week of release. And the considerably acclaimed documentary "Free Solo," opened in fifth place with 19.7 million yuan (2.7 million U.S. dollars).

Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and his husband Jimmy Chin, "Free Solo" hit the big screens across China last Friday.

It focuses on the daring climb made by Alex Honnold in June 2017. The American climber scaled over 900-meter sheer granite wall, known as El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park without guide ropes or support.

The producers of "Free Solo," Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill pose with the award for Best Documentary Feature in the press room during at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019 in Hollywood, California. /VCG Photo

The producers of "Free Solo," Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill pose with the award for Best Documentary Feature in the press room during at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019 in Hollywood, California. /VCG Photo

Since it premiered in at the Telluride Film Festival in August last year, the film has received raving reviews and worldwide accolades, including the Best Documentary Feature at February's Oscars and BAFTA.

The epic climbing feature took in a remarkable gross of over 21 million U.S. dollars in North America.

One year after, the Academy Award-winning film finally headed to China. Before the September theatrical release, its screenings at both Beijing and Shanghai International Film Festivals earlier this year sold out in minutes.

A screenshot shows the rating of "Free Solo" on Douban.com.

A screenshot shows the rating of "Free Solo" on Douban.com.

At the film's China premiere on August 30, director Vasarhelyi said that the film is about how a young man conquers his fear, and how he utilizes his gift of overcoming the fear in climbing. 

Upcoming Mid-Autumn Fest sees rich content

Undoubtedly, the newly released documentary has not reached the summit of its Chinese box office potential yet, given its overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth. The film currently scores 9 out of 10 points on Douban.com.

The acclaimed picture, however, is facing fierce competition in this week as a total six titles will hit theaters nationwide during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on September 13 this year.

The cast of the "The Last Wish": (L-R) Director Tian Yusheng, actors Peng Yuchang, Darren Wang and Wei Daxun walk the red carpet ahead of the opening ceremony of the 22 Shanghai International Film Festival in Shanghai, China, June 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

The cast of the "The Last Wish": (L-R) Director Tian Yusheng, actors Peng Yuchang, Darren Wang and Wei Daxun walk the red carpet ahead of the opening ceremony of the 22 Shanghai International Film Festival in Shanghai, China, June 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

Among them are Chinese comedy drama "The Last Wish," which is opening this Thursday, as well as the fantasy action flick "Jade Dynasty," starring rising star Xiao Zhan, and Japanese classic animated franchise 2019 installation "Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire" – both will premiere one day after.

Directed by Tian Yusheng, "The Last Wish" is a buddy comedy dedicated to youth and friendship.

It sees up-and-coming actor Peng Yuchang portray a young man with a terminal disease starting a journey with two of his friends, who come to help realize his wish to "become a man" by losing virginity before he dies.

The film, which was originally scheduled for release on July 18, was yanked from the summer lineup "due to production reasons," according to the announcement made by the film's production team about two weeks ahead of its theatrical release.

(Cover image by Gao Hongmei)