National Day Holiday sees box-office drop
The mainland's National Day box office experienced its first fall in a decade with 1.58 billion yuan ($236 million), a 14.6 percent year on year drop, according to a report on movie site Mtime on Friday.
As international prize winner I Am Not Madame Bovary pulled out of theaters, mainland cinemas were dominated by four domestic films and one foreign animated film.
The biggest winner of what is being called "the most mediocre line up ever," crime action film Operation Mekong soared above the competition with a 531 million yuan box office, beating out Belonged to You, which was the box office champ during the first three days of the holiday period which lasted from October 1-7.
Based on the events of the Mekong River Massacre, Operation Mekong follows a Chinese investigation team as they go up against a drug lord who murdered and framed 13 Chinese sailors.
But even this box office champion had the lowest box-office returns seen in this period over the previous three years.
Second place went to romance film Belonged to You (466 million), an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name.
Guo Jingming's Legend of Ravaging Dynasties, the first domestic animated film to use motion capture technology, came in third with 274 million yuan. Featuring a cast of popular stars, the film was one of the most anticipated films out during the week-long holiday.
Comedy Mission Milano, starring well-known actors Andy Lau and Huang Xiaoming, ranked at fourth place with 188 million yuan.
Imported animated film Robinson Crusoe came in at No.5 with only 38 million yuan.
