Asia-Pacific box office revenue grows 35% YOY through August

Cinemas in Asia-Pacific saw a 35% year-over-year growth in cumulative gross box office revenue to earn $8.17 billion between January and August, as domestic and animated titles continued to top the charts, according to OpusData figures compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

There were 109 films released in the region in August, a 16.2% decline over August 2022.

China continued to be the biggest film revenue earner in the region, collecting $6.14 billion through August, growth of 39.7% year over year.

Domestic titles remained popular with cinemagoers in China. Huanxi Media Group Ltd.-produced "Mǎn Jiāng Hóng," a suspense comedy, retained its top spot at the Chinese box office with $673.3 million.

China Film Group Corp.'s sci-fi film "Liú Làng Dì Qiú 2" followed suit, securing $596.7 million in gross box office sales, trailed by China Media Capital Inc.'s mystery thriller "Xiāo Shī De Tā" with $516.4 million.

South Korea, the second-highest earner among the covered markets, grew its cumulative ticket sales for the period under review by 61.4% to earn $1.15 billion.

Walt Disney Co.'s "Frozen II" topped the South Korean charts, collecting $93.2 million. It was followed by the local action-crime title "Beomjoedosi 3," distributed by ABO Entertainment Co., with $82.4 million and "Frozen" with $67 million.

Contrary to China and South Korea, Japanese and Australian theaters saw a dip in earnings. Japanese theaters booked $303.3 million in revenue, down 14.1% over the same period a year ago. Australian film earnings slid 2.6% to $577.2 million.

– Read about the year-over-year growth in Asia-Pacific's box office earnings between January and July. – Check out the global film release report for August.

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie," distributed by Universal Pictures, featured among the top three highest-earning films in both Japan and Australia, with $101.3 million and $35.4 million, respectively. The animated adventure film is based on Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Mario video game franchise.

The Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.-distributed "Barbie," a live-action adaptation of Mattel Inc.'s doll franchise, was the most popular title among Australian audiences, earning $51.0 million.

The action and adventure film genre remained a favorite in Asia-Pacific, followed by drama and comedy.