‘The Little Prince’ Launches in China with $10.8 Million

The French animated feature The Little Prince, directed by Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda) and produced by Onyx Films, Orange Studio, and On Entertainment, launched in China last weekend with a solid $10.8 million. The film, animated at Montreal-based Mikros Image, opened in the #3 spot, behind the debut of Ant-Man and the Chinese megahit Goodbye Mr. Loser.

The adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella, which uses a mixed-media approach combining CGI and stop motion sequences, has grossed $38 million worldwide to date. That total includes over $10 million in France, and over $7 million in Brazil, where it became the first non-American animated feature to reach #1 at the box office. Paramount is looking to release in the United States in 2016.

Little Prince’s Chinese launch will likely beat out the recent debut of Pixar’s Inside Out, which has grossed just $14.7 million after two weeks of release. Boxoffice.com pointed out that part of the reason may have been the voice casting:

The Little Prince was shown in both English and Mandarin dubbed versions and naturally, audiences flocked to the Mandarin one. In a smart move, distributor Fundamental Films utilized high-profile celebrity voice talents Huang Bo (Lost in Thailand) and teen idol Jackson Yi to attract family audiences. In contrast, Inside Out’s dubbed version was voiced by a cast of virtually unknown Chinese performers…

Back in the United States, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Hotel Transylvania 2 grossed $12.6M in its fourth frame, good for fifth place. The film has now grossed $136.8M domestically, and will soon exceed the original’s $148.3M total.

Internationally, the Sony Pictures Animation film scored $30.6M, lifted by a #1 bow in the UK with $9.5 million. Worldwide total is now $267.9M.