‘Hobbit’ stays on top at China box office, chased by ‘Running Man’

Reporting from Beijing — “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” stayed atop the mainland Chinese box office last week, adding $43.5 million to its haul and bringing the Warner Bros. film’s cumulative gross to $95 million after 10 days in release.

“Five Armies,” the third and final installment in the Peter Jackson-directed series, has now out-performed the previous two installments in China: “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” pulled in a total of $74.8 million last year, and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” earned $51 million in total in 2013, according to film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

In second place last week was “Running Man,” adapted from a Chinese reality TV show of the same name. It earned $38.2 million in its opening weekend for Huayi Bros. The Chinese animated “Boonie Bears: Mystical Winter,” from LeVision Pictures, came in at No. 3, with more than $17.4 million including some advance screenings, Artisan said.

“Miss Granny,” a remake of a South Korean comedy, dropped to fourth place. Since the film’s Jan. 8 release, it has taken in more than $58 million.

In fifth place for the week was “Pleasant Goat and the Big Big Wolf 7,” the latest in an animated series from Shanghai Film Group, which earned $4.3 million in its first two days of release.

Universal Pictures’ Angelina Jolie-directed World War II story “Unbroken,” which opened Friday, failed to crack the top five for the seven days ending Sunday, Artisan said.

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