US blockbusters perform in China, but not at home

BEIJING - US science fiction blockbuster "Pacific Rim" has remained top of China's box office charts for a third consecutive week, while it performed poorly in the US film market.

According to box office figures by China Film News on Tuesday, the movie about monsters set in the 2020s, had taken 640 million yuan ($104.5 million) by the week ending August 18, since it debuted in late July.

However, it only took $52.3 million in its first week at the US box office and dropped by 57.2 percent in the second week.

At douban.com, a popular Chinese social network for films, "Pacific Rim" received 7.9 (out of 10), with many praising the visual effects.

Reviewers wrote on douban.com that people should see it in 3D or at the IMAX.

Similarly to "Pacific Rim," other US movies, including "Fast and Furious 6" and "White House Down," did well in China but performed poorly in the United States.

Cai Yuheng, a senior at Tsinghua University, admitted that the Chinese elements in "Pacific Rim" attracted him to watch the film.

Many Hollywood films try to cater to the Chinese audience. This is illustrated by Chinese versions of "Iron Man 3" and "Looper" that feature Shanghai.

Zhang Huijun, president of the Beijing Film Academy, said that the Chinese elements added into American films attract a younger audience.

Huang Qunfei, chief manager of the Beijing-based New Film Association, said due to a lack of competitive domestic films, US action movies are popular among Chinese moviegoers.

"The ongoing 'Tiny Times 2' and 'One Night Surprise' about romance are confined to a limited group of people, which trigger Chinese moviegoers to see foreign blockbusters," Huang said.

"Tiny Times 2," took 106 million yuan last week from August 12 to 18, ranking second in the charts, and "One Night Surprise" took in 96.9 million yuan, placing it third.