Local films reign during import ban

BEIJING — Chinese domestic films once again dominated the country’s box office amid an annual summer ban on Hollywood titles.

China’s government, intent on building a domestic film industry to rival Hollywood’s, typically bans imported releases during peak moviegoing periods, such as national holidays and summer vacations. The blackouts — officially called “domestic film protection periods” — have historically given a summer bump to local films.

The fantasy action film “Wu Kong” reigned at China’s box office last week for the second straight week, grossing $33.1 million and bringing its total to $92.5 million over 11 days, according to consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

Directed by Hong Kong’s Derek Kwok and starring Eddie Peng, Shawn Yue and Ni Ni, the New Classics Media-produced film features the charismatic character Sun Wukong before he became the Monkey King.

Sun Wukong is a renowned character from the Chinese classic novel “Journey to the West.” However, “Wu Kong” is unlikely to match Kwok’s previous huge hit, “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons,” which he co-directed with Stephen Chow. That film accumulated more than $180 million in 2013.

“Brotherhood of Blades 2” came in a close second, opening with $26.2 million. In the five days since its release, the period martial arts film surpassed the total gross of its predecessor in 2014.

Universal/Illumination’s “Despicable Me 3” is the only Hollywood film to remain in the top five charts. It slid to third place, adding $20.8 million for a 17-day total of $135.7 million. The animated sequel has become the No. 2-grossing imported animated film ever in China, behind Walt Disney Pictures’ 2016 animation “Zootopia.”

Zhang is a special correspondent for The Times.