I love how China's market allows family and women friendly films compete toe-to-toe with the big super hero and monster films!
A $5M film drama about a young woman struggling to raise her brother can beat out a $160M film with two iconically famous giant monsters!
Not that China doesn't like the monsters and epic since Godzilla vs Kong made more in China than anywhere else in the world but I love it it still gives chances to smaller scoped films like Sister, Hi Mom, A Little Red Flower, etc.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.…end-to-local-drama-sister
"China Box Office: 'Godzilla vs. Kong' Loses Second Weekend to Local Drama 'Sister'
Godzilla vs. Kong, Hollywood's newly crowned pandemic-era box-office champ, has already suffered a surprise upset in China.
The Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment blockbuster earned a healthy $44.2 million in its second weekend on Chinese screens, which amounted to a slide of just 37 percent from its $70.3 million debut. But that wasn't enough to stay on top. Underdog local drama Sister, from Shanghai-based studio Lian Ray Pictures, handily defeated the monster mashup, opening to $53.5 million.
Directed by newcomer Ruoxin Yin, Sistertells the story of a girl (Zhang Zifeng of Detective Chinatown franchise fame) who's forced to sacrifice her big-city independence to raise her little brother after their parents are killed in a car accident. Much like Chinese New Year's surprise smash hit, Hi, Mom, Sister's sentimental, family-focused story has connected with China's post-pandemic audience in a big way, catapulting it straight into blockbuster territory. The film was reportedly made for less than $5 million (compared to Godzilla vs. Kong's estimated $160 million production and VFX budget).
