Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid has grossed more than $500m at the Chinese box office and will climb even higher as its run has been extended by three months.
The film, which was released on the first day of Chinese New Year (February 8), crossed the $500m benchmark on Saturday, March 5, according to data from EntGroup. By Sunday, March 6 it had reached $505m.
However, the film is no longer topping the box office – on Friday it was pushed into third place by Hong Kong-China kungfu biopic Ip Man 3, starring Donnie Yen, and Disney animation Zootopia.
China Film Group recently announced that it has extended The Mermaid’s run by three months to early May, another peak box office period. Chinese New Year, which takes place in late January/early February, is China’s biggest box office season, while March and April are traditionally quieter months.
With China’s overall box office pie growing so rapidly, records don’t usually stand for long. However The Mermaid’s extension will make it difficult for any other local production or Hollywood blockbuster to overtake the film. Last year, local production Monster Hunt was briefly China’s highest-grossing release ever, when it squeezed past Fast & Furious 7’s $490m haul.
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