China Box Office: ‘The Dumpling Queen’ Reigns Over May Day Frame, ‘Ne Zha 2’ Crosses $2.13 Billion

Chinese audiences turned out in decent numbers over the May Day holiday weekend, propelling CMC Pictures’ “The Dumpling Queen” to the top of the box office.

The biographical drama debuted with a RMB123.3 million ($17.1 million) from April 30 to May 4, according to figures from Artisan Gateway. The film, which stars Ma Li and is directed by Andrew Lau, tells the real-life story of Zang Jianhe from Qingdao who builds a dumpling empire in Hong Kong after being stranded there in the late 1970s.

In second place was Universe Entertainment’s financial thriller “A Gilded Game,” which earned $11.5 million over the weekend. Directed by Herman Yau, the Hong Kong-produced drama stars Andy Lau, Ni Ni, and Jasper Liu, and follows a principled finance intern in a global investment bank.

Box office mainstay “Ne Zha 2” continued its historic run, collecting $6.5 million in its 14th weekend. The animated fantasy has now grossed $2.13 billion, extending its record as the highest-grossing film of the year and the highest grossing animated film of all time. $500,000 of this came from Imax.

The 4K version of Studio Ghibli’s classic “Princess Mononoke,” the 1997 anime epic directed by Miyazaki Hayao, landed in fourth place with $6.1 million. This included $620,000 from Imax screens.

Rounding out the top five was Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*,” which opened to $5.7 million. This included $2.9 million on Imax, where the format’s screens contributed 28% of the Middle Kingdom-wide holiday weekend total.

Overall, China’s total weekend box office reached $65.6 million, marking a noticeable bump thanks to the May Day holiday. The year-to-date total rose to $3.65 billion, representing a 31.6% increase over the same period in 2024.