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Acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou's new feature "One Second" made a delayed debut in the past weekend while crime action film "Caught in Time" continued to lead China's weekly box office (November 23-29).
Emperor Motion Pictures' crime thriller "Caught in Time," directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ho-Leung Lau and starring veteran actors Daniel Wu and Wang Qianyuan, again topped the box office over the past week, raking in about 192.5 million yuan ($29.3 million).
The movie's total box office revenue has exceeded 400 million yuan within 10 days of its release, according to box office tracker platform Maoyan.
A poster for the film "Caught in Time" is seen in a theater in Beijing, November 22, 2020. /CFP
The American comedy animation "The Croods: A New Age," ranked second by taking in 125.3 million yuan ($19 million) in revenue.
The animated adventure picture made its China premiere on Friday, earning about 19.5 million yuan on its opening day.
A film master's "love letter to the cinema"
Coming in third with 69.9 million yuan ($10.6 million) in ticket sales was "One Second," the highly-anticipated film and the latest epic of Zhang Yimou, who has won multiple prestigious film awards at home and abroad, including Golden Rooster and Golden Horse awards as well as Venice's Golden Bear.
Poster for Zhang Yimou's film "One Second." /Douban
The arthouse film hit nationwide theaters on November 27, snaring over 19.4 million yuan ($2.9 million) in its Chinese mainland debut. The picture raked in nearly 70 million yuan in its opening weekend.
The 70-year-old filmmaker once described the new piece as "a love letter to the cinema." "I will never forget some scenes while I was watching a movie when I was a child. The excitement and joy are beyond description, just like a dream," he said in his hand-written letter released ahead of the premiere, concluding that "'One Second', for those who love films."
The film, starring seasoned actor Zhang Yi and young actress Liu Haocun, follows a heartwarming story of a father, played by Zhang, who yearns to see just a one-second clip of his missing daughter and take a long journey to seek for the cine film.
Poster for the film "One Second" (L) and the director Zhang Yimou's hand-written letter. /Douban
"'One Second' is a lingering story in my heart and a memory of my youth as well as a personal wish," Zhang said after the film's Beijing premiere. "I had to make it before I'm too old and weak to film it in the desert."
Filmsfrom different genresto be shown
Stunning cast-led war epic "The Sacrifice" and "Find Your Voice" starring Hong Kong actor Andy Lau ranked the fourth and fifth with 40.3 million yuan ($6.1 million) and 17.5 million yuan ($2.7 million) in takings, respectively.
At the helm of award-winning Tibetan director Pema Tseden, the critically acclaimed title "Balloon" grossed over 2 million yuan (over $300,000) during its opening weekend despite a limited number of screenings. Many netizens have called the theaters to arrange more screenings for the arthouse title.
Poster for film "Balloon." /Douban
The film was screened in the Horizons section at the 76th Venice International Film Festival and made its North America premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
Four films of different genres are set to be released this Friday, including the new domestic fantasy "Soul Snatcher," starring up-and-coming actors Li Xian and Chen Linong, as well as Paul Anderson's adventure drama "Monster Hunter" and Leigh Whannell's latest thriller "The Invisible Man."
"Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution," the 22th installment of the popular Pokemon series, will also get a theatrical release in China on December 4, more than one year after its Japanese debut.
