China's box office took a dive last week as the magic wore off following the Labor Day holiday in early May. The past week (May 10-16) saw a total of 589 million yuan ($91 million) in box office revenue, less than half of the holiday week's total, according to the movie ticketing platform Maoyan.

Chinese award-winning director Zhang Yimou's spy thriller "Cliff Walkers" has been leading the domestic box office chart for more than 15 consecutive days despite a new round of titles hitting the big screen last week. 

The movie, Zhang's first attempt in the spy genre, features a star-studded cast, including Zhang Yi, Yu Hewei, Qin Hailu and Zhu Yawen. It tells the story of four special agents of the Communist Party of China carrying out a secret mission against the enemy in the northeast China city of Harbin.

The movie has garnered $150 million in revenue since its release on April 30, data from Maoyan showed, climbing to the sixth place on the country's yearly top-grossing movie chart.

"Break Through the Darkness," a crime action movie about China's fight against organized crime, came second with over $18 million, according to Maoyan.

It was followed by the American revenge thriller "Wrath of Man," which was released on May 10, raking in $17.5 million. Starring English actor Jason Statham, it was initially released in several countries on April 22 and in the U.S. on May 7. It's slated for cinemas in the UK on July 23.

Meanwhile, Peter Jackson's classic fantasy adventure trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" saw its last film "The Return of the King" returning to Chinese theaters on May 14. The first two chapters started box office re-runs on April 16 and a week later, respectively.

Yet, the re-releases have failed to make a big splash in the country as they did some 20 years ago. They generated a re-run revenue of $9.3 million, $7.7 million and $3.8 million, respectively, as of Tuesday, the box office tracker showed.

The 2019 German drama "The Collini Case," the romantic comedy film "77 Heartwarmings" as well as "Wonder in the Temple," a drama film depicting real-life stories during the devastating 2008 earthquake in the southwestern Sichuan Province, were released in mid-May.

(With input from agencies)

(Cover image by Jia Jieqiong)