‘Logan’ dominates China’s box office for the second week

Reporting from Beijing —  The Hollywood action film “Logan,” starring Hugh Jackman, ruled China’s box office for the second consecutive week.

The film, an X-Men spinoff directed by James Mangold and produced by 20th Century Fox, topped the chart last weekend by adding $37.7 million to its tally of $87.3 million, according to film industry consulting film Artisan Gateway.

The sentimental film “A Dog’s Purpose,” directed by Lasse Hallstrom, ascended to second with $36.1 million in ticket receipts, bringing its 10-day total to $53.7 million, despite a mediocre run in North America.

The dog film was produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, which entered into a strategic partnership with China’s Alibaba Pictures last year. China’s e-commerce titan used its marketing muscle to attract China’s moviegoers, especially by way of its popular online ticket platform Taopiaopiao.

China’s state media China Youth Daily attributed the film’s success to the country’s growing pet ownership and a lack of the pet-themed titles in China’s market.

The action-horror movie “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter,” starring Milla Jovovich, slipped to third, seeing a 68.3% drop to $13.9 million in its third week. However, its 17-day total hit a massive $153.3 million, making it the 26th-highest grossing film in China of all time.

The Japanese animated film “Kingsgaive: Final Fantasy XV,” directed by Takeshi Nozue, took forth place, pulling in $3 million in three days. The science fiction fantasy, produced by Japanese entertainment giant Square Enix Co., is based on the role-playing video game of the same name.

Illumination Entertainment’s animated musical “Sing,” released by Universal Pictures, ranked fifth by grossing $1.9 million last week for a 24-day total of $29.9 million.

Yang is a special correspondent.