Weekly Box Office: “Lost in Thailand” Tops 1 Billion RMB; “CZ12” Reaps 600 Million RMB

On New Year’s day, mainland Chinese comedy, Lost in Thailand <人再囧途之泰囧>, soared past 1 billion RMB at the box office, becoming the first Chinese-language film to hold such honors.

Film analysts project that Lost in Thailand will likely gross 1.3 billion RMB when it ends its box office run, nearly twice the amount that previous box office champion, Painted Skin 2 <画皮2>, had earned.

First time director, Xu Zheng (徐峥), who also stars in the film, has not become an overnight millionaire despite Lost in Thailand’s extraordinary success. The film was produced on a frugal budget of 30 million RMB, in which Xu Zheng only received a fixed salary rather than royalties from box office sales. Regarding any additional bonuses, Xu Zheng said that it will depend on the generosity of the film’s investors.

For the week ending December 30, 2012, Lost in Thailand reigned the box office for the third consecutive week. The film generated 268.30 million RMB, while Jackie Chan’s (成龍) CZ12 <十二生肖> raked in 262.50 million RMB in weekly sales. Entering the new year, CZ12’s box office smoothly sailed past 600 million RMB. The film’s target mainland sales are expected to reach 800 million RMB.

CZ12 is also extremely popular in Southeast Asia, dominating box office sales in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The family-friendly action film is non-violent by design, but features thrilling scenes such as Jackie jumping from an airplane without a parachute.

Despite strong marketing efforts, Chow Yun Fat’s (周潤發) The Last Tycoon <大上海> and Huang Xiaoming’s (黄晓明) The Guillotines <血滴子>, continued to struggle at the box office in their second week. The Last Tycoon may end up with cumulative gross of 100 million RMB after its theater run, but The Guillotines may miss this crucial mark.

Hong Kong theatergoers clamored to see Hollywood productions, such as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey over the Christmas holidays. CZ12 was relegated to the fifth spot at the box office, with cumulative gross of $7.98 million HKD.

Mainland China Box Office

Week Ending December 30, 2012
(in millions RMB)

Rank	Film	Weekly	Cumulative	Days in Theaters
1	Lost in Thailand <人再囧途之泰囧>	268.30	952.30	19
2	CZ12 <十二生肖>	262.50	487.50	11
3	The Last Tycoon <大上海>	51.70	74.70	10
4	The Guillotines <血滴子>	23.80	50.80	11
5	Bleeding Mountain <凶間雪山>	3.30	5.14	3

Hong Kong Box Office
Week Ending December 30, 2012
$ in millions HKD

Rank	Film	Weekly	Cumulative	Days in Theaters
1	The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey	$10.38	$32.30	18
2	Les Miserables	$10.17	$11.85	6
3	Wreck-It Ralph	$9.36	$14.21	11
4	Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2	$8.75	$16.56	11
5	CZ12 <十二生肖>	$5.20	$7.98	11