China spurns Hollywood movies in favor of the hyper-patriotic ‘Wolf Warrior 2’

Reporting from Beijing —  The patriotic juggernaut “Wolf Warrior 2” continued its dominance of China’s box office for a fifth straight week, eclipsing Hollywood films including Disney/Pixar’s “Cars 3” that had a tepid showing in the world’s second-largest film market.

“Wolf Warrior 2” grossed an additional $38.7 million last weekend, according to film consulting firm Artisan Gateway, extending its all-time China record to $805 million.

Foreign films once again entered the Middle Kingdom’s theaters after more than a month of an unofficial government-imposed ban on imported movies. The blackout, which aims to bolster the local film industry, usually happens during national holidays and summer vacations.

The French sci-fi film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” topped the new releases. The action-adventure film, based on the comic series “Valerian and Laureline” by Pierre Christin, opened with a healthy $28.7 million after three days. It has already outperformed Luc Besson’s previous sci-fi action film, “Lucy,” which opened in 2014 with $19 million in its first three days and eventually collected $40.8 million in China.

Disney/Pixar’s “Cars 3” ranked fourth, debuting with a disappointing $10.7 million. Its previous film, “Finding Dory,” grossed approximately $38.5 million in 2016.

Sony’s crime-and-action film “Baby Driver,” starring Ansel Elgort and Lily James, scored $9.6 million in its debut. The critically acclaimed film was a hit in the U.S.

By contrast, the Hong Kong-Chinese crime film “Paradox” added $24 million, bringing its two-week total to $65.7 million.