Japanese anime once again proved its pulling power in mainland cinemas as “Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback” opened at No. 1 with an estimated ¥156 million ($21.5 million) over the June 27-29 weekend, the franchise’s second-best Chinese launch to date. Brad Pitt’s highly publicised “F1: The Movie,” released the same day, settled for second place on $9 million, underlining the gap between global buzz and local taste even as the racing drama sped to a $144 million worldwide debut.
The Chinese opening came just hours after “F1” topped North America with $55.6 million, Apple Original Films’ biggest theatrical start and a rare win for the racing genre. “They shot this thing off the starting line with great success,” said Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian, praising a marketing campaign that paired Pitt’s star appeal with Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton overseas. Apple spent more than $200 million on the production and rolled out discounts for iPhone users and Apple Music tie-ins, efforts that executive Zack Van Amburg said helped craft “a deeply emotional and entertaining story” for global audiences.
In China, however, audiences leaned toward familiar Japanese IP. Last year’s “Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram” cleared $35 million in the market, giving the 29-year-old series a loyal fan base to build on. Both new imports were dated under a crowded summer slate that the China Film Administration says features more than 60 foreign and domestic titles and is backed by nationwide ticket-discount programmes to revive cinema attendance.
Release-calendar data compiled by consultancy Streamlined show Hollywood and Japanese movies shared only a 21 % market share of Chinese ticket sales in 2024, a figure executives hope to lift as quotas loosen for the post-pandemic era. The same list confirms the head-to-head placement of “F1,” “One-Eyed Flashback” and Pixar’s “Elio” on June 27, a scheduling bottleneck some analysts blame for splitting spending power across demographics.
While Pitt’s film enjoyed premium-priced IMAX screens—55 % of its domestic haul came from the large format, according to the Associated Press—it faces a steeper climb in China, where sports dramas rarely match the traction of anime or local comedies. Nevertheless, Formula 1’s rising profile in Asia and Hamilton’s hands-on role in ensuring on-track authenticity could extend the film’s legs during the month-long summer window, industry observers say.
