Hong Kong box office down 17% first half of 2024

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The first half of 2024 saw the Hong Kong box office plummet 17% year-on-year despite the record-breaking performance of local hit Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In. The action feature, which premiered at Cannes, recorded nearly 1.6 million admissions, surpassing 2023's A Guilty Conscience to become the highest ever recorded for a local film in Hong Kong and the second highest ever when including foreign films. It is also the second local title to ever top HK$100m at the local box office, following A Guilty Conscience, which hit that milestone last year and remains the highest grossing Hong Kong of all time.

Comedy sequel Table For Six 2 took second place followed by The Moon Thieves in fourth, We 12 in sixth and Rob N Roll in seventh. All were released at Chinese New Year with the exception of We 12, an action comedy starring all 12 members of popular Cantopop boy band Mirror, which proved a hit over the Easter holiday.

Import success

The biggest imports were sci-fi Dune: Part 2 in third followed by Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire in fifth, and Japanese animation Spy x Family Code: White in eighth; a total of 143 films including 22 local titles were released in the first six months in Hong Kong.

Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In is set for a trilogy, with a prequel and sequel in the works. It received its international premiere in the Midnight Screenings section of Cannes in May and will receive its North American premiere as the closing film of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) later this month.

Hong Kong box office: H1 2024

- Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In / $13.4m/HK$105.1m
- Table For Six 2 / $4.78m/HK$37.36m
- Dune: Part Two* / $4.6m/HK$35.99m
- The Moon Thieves / $3.53m/HK$27.55m
- Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire / $3.22m/HK$25.18m
- We 12 / $2.89m/HK$22.31m
- Rob N Roll / $2.72m/HK$21.22m
- Spy x Family Code: White* / $2.34m/HK$18.27m
- Kung Fu Panda 4 / $2.03m/HK$15.82m
- Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes / $1.86m/HK$14.51m

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Why is Hong Kong box office down so much? Share your opinion and what do you think needed to bring up the attendance numbers again.