'Once Upon a Time in the Middle East' Holds No. 1 in China as Summer Box Office Fights Back
Shen Teng's war comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in the Middle East held the top spot at the mainland China box office for a second straight weekend, earning RMB298.8 million ($43.9 million) across Aug. 21–23, 2026, according to Artisan Gateway data reported by Variety.
The film, from production company Dirty Monkeys and directed by Wen Muye, has now grossed $232.2 million since its nationwide launch on Aug. 11. That figure was already commanding attention a week earlier, when the picture opened at No. 1 with RMB477.9 million over the Aug. 14–16 frame, per a prior Variety report. The South China Morning Post noted that the film crossed 1 billion yuan ($148 million) in its first week alone.
Behind the leader, the weekend's overall China gross reached $103.1 million. The year-to-date total stood at $4 billion — down 28.6% from the same point in 2025, a shortfall that makes the current film's traction especially welcome for distributors and exhibitors. Screen Daily reported that the hit helped push the summer box office to RMB15.2 billion.
Pearl River Film Group's crime drama V, directed by Han Yan and starring Tony Ka Fai Leung, Zhu Yilong, Tan Jianci and Kara Wai, debuted in second place with $18.9 million, reaching a cumulative $30.7 million. Universal's The Odyssey took third in its second weekend, adding $15.9 million for a $68.7 million total.
The animated fantasy All Wishes Come True!, from Pearl Studio and directed by Mu Zhengyang, held fourth in its sixth weekend — a remarkable hold by any measure — adding $9.8 million to reach $255.7 million since its July 18 debut. Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day rounded out the top five with $4.6 million in its fourth full weekend, lifting its China cumulative to $219.9 million since release on July 29.
For a market down nearly 29% year-on-year, the leaderboard tells a story of several titles pulling weight simultaneously — a local blockbuster, a sturdy Hollywood import, and a long-running animation all sharing screens and ticket money. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is doing the heaviest lifting, but the breadth of earners suggests the corridor through late August is holding better than the year's cumulative numbers would imply.
Artisan Gateway, the data firm whose figures underpin these rankings, was founded in 2003 and provides box-office tracking across the Asia-Pacific region.
Starring alongside Shen Teng in the lead title are Jiang Qiming, Aarif Rahman and Omar Sherif. The film blends war, comedy and drama — a genre mix that has resonated with mainland audiences even as the broader 2026 market struggles to match last year's pace.
