‘Maze Runner’ tops China box office; ‘Peanuts’ makes peanuts

The second installment in the “Maze Runner” series topped a slow week at the China box office, tallying $21.7 million in tickets sold in the seven days ending Sunday. “The Peanuts Movie,” meanwhile, made peanuts, debuting with only about $3 million despite a simultaneous release with its stateside opening.

“Maze Runner: Scorch Trials,” which arrived in Chinese theaters about two months after its North American premiere, outpaced the local romantic comedy “The Ex Files 2,” which came in second place with $17.3 million, data from film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway showed. “Scorch Trials” has made nearly $300 million worldwide to date, according to boxofficemojo.com.

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The Chinese suspense drama “The Witness” notched another $12.3 million, bringing its tally since its Oct. 30 release to $31.3 million, Artisan said.

Universal Pictures’ “Everest” climbed only to fourth place, selling $11.7 million worth of tickets in its first six days in theaters. The movie was a relatively late addition to China’s release calendar, with the studio only having limited time to develop a publicity campaign.

Rounding out the top five films was “The Last Women Standing,” a local romance directed by Luo Luo and adapted from a novel, which opened Friday and pulled in $6.3 million in its first weekend in cinemas.

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