Stephen Chow’s sports comedy Kung Fu Soccer made a major splash at the mainland China box office over the July 10–12 weekend, opening with RMB500.3 million, or $73.6 million, in just two days, according to Artisan Gateway. The film, produced by Shenzhen Film Studio, easily topped the market and marked Chow’s return to the sports comedy genre more than 20 years after Shaolin Soccer.
The film stars Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba Dilmurat and Lay Zhang, and centers on a grassroots Chinese women’s soccer team that uses martial-arts-inspired moves to compete in a high-stakes tournament. Its strong debut gave the weekend a clear breakout title and reinforced Chow’s enduring appeal with Chinese audiences.
Other titles in the top five
Universal’s Minions & Monsters held second place in its second full weekend, adding $8.1 million for a cumulative total of $32.4 million in China. In third, Light Chaser Animation’s historical epic Three Kingdoms: The Beginning opened with $4.7 million over the three-day frame, bringing its total to $6.4 million including previews. Directed by Xie Junwei, the film is the first part of a planned trilogy and revisits the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty through the early rivalry between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
A24’s Backrooms came in fourth with $3.2 million, taking its overall China gross to $21.8 million. Taopiaopiao’s satirical comedy Keep Real finished fifth with $3 million in its second weekend, lifting its cumulative total to $18.5 million. Written and directed by Xing Wenxiong, the film stars Bai Jingting as Superman Wang Changhai, a superhero who returns to his hometown and must learn to navigate its complicated social dynamics with help from a local branch director played by Wei Xiang.
Overall weekend box office in mainland China reached $101.2 million. Year-to-date revenue for 2026 stands at $2.74 billion, which is 38.6% below the same point in 2025.
Source: variety.com
