A war comedy-drama from Dirty Monkeys has claimed the top position at the Chinese box office during the August 14-16 weekend. “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East,” directed by Wen Muye, earned approximately $70.3 million over the three-day period. The film, which stars Shen Teng as a chef who relocates to the Middle East to establish a restaurant and settle family debts, has accumulated $134.1 million since its August 11 debut, including preview screenings.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” secured second place in its opening weekend, drawing $28.4 million across the same three-day stretch. The Universal epic benefited from early preview screenings and achieved a combined total of $35.9 million in China. The film’s performance marks a significant milestone for Nolan’s work in the territory, setting a record for both Imax opening weekend earnings and Imax index performance for the acclaimed director.
Additional titles rounded out the top five positions, with Pearl Studio’s animated fantasy “All Wishes Come True!” holding third place in its fifth weekend with $13.1 million. Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” followed in fourth position, collecting $9.9 million, while Enlight Pictures’ “To Your Island” maintained fifth place with $2.6 million.
The mainland Chinese market generated $132.9 million in overall weekend revenue, though year-to-date performance shows a concerning 30.4 percent decline compared to the same period in 2025, totaling $3.79 billion.
Originally reported by Variety →
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