China and South Korea Box Office: Once Upon a Time in the Middle East Holds China as The Odyssey Rules Korea Again

Maitri Modi

August 24, 2026

The August 21–23 weekend saw The Odyssey and Once Upon a Time in the Middle East continue their strong runs across two of Asia’s biggest theatrical markets. While the Chinese box office remained led by local blockbuster Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey continued its impressive run in South Korea, holding the No. 1 position for a third consecutive weekend. Meanwhile, V made a strong debut in China, while Insidious: Out of the Further opened in third place in Korea.

In China, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East remained at the top of the weekend box office during August 21–23, taking in RMB 298.8 million ($43.9 million) in its second weekend. The film recorded a relatively strong hold after its opening weekend and has now accumulated $232.2 million since its nationwide release on August 11.

Directed by Wen Muye and starring Shen Teng, Jiang Qiming, Aarif Rahman and Omar Sherif, the war comedy-drama follows a Chinese chef who travels to the Middle East to clear his family’s debts by opening a restaurant. The film has emerged as one of the biggest local successes of the summer, with its strong second weekend helping it maintain a comfortable lead over the new releases.

The film’s performance comes as the wider Chinese summer box office continues to remain strong. China’s summer season had crossed RMB 11.5 billion by Sunday, August 23, around RMB 500 million ahead of the same point last year. Daily ticket sales have also remained above RMB 100 million for 44 consecutive days.

V made its debut in second place, collecting $18.9 million over the three-day weekend. Including early screenings following its August 19 release, the film has already reached $30.7 million in China.

The crime drama is directed by Han Yan and features a cast led by Tony Ka Fai Leung, Zhu Yilong, Tan Jianci and Kara Wai. The film follows an ambitious figure whose determination and business instincts take him toward success before darker consequences begin to catch up with him. Its second-place opening gives the film a strong start against established summer blockbusters.

The Odyssey slipped to third place in its second weekend in China, adding $15.9 million to its run. Christopher Nolan’s epic has now grossed $68.7 million in the market. The film opened in second place in China the previous weekend behind Once Upon a Time in the Middle East and has continued to maintain a solid presence despite strong competition from local titles.

All Wishes Come True! came in fourth place, adding $9.8 million in its sixth weekend. The Pearl Studio animated fantasy has now reached $255.7 million in China, continuing its long-running success in the market.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day rounded out the Chinese top five with $4.6 million in its fourth full weekend. The Sony-Marvel blockbuster has now collected $219.9 million in China since its July 29 release.

In South Korea, the weekend told a very different story, with The Odyssey once again taking the top spot. Christopher Nolan’s epic earned $10.6 million from 1,321,204 admissions across 2,182 screens during the August 21–23 weekend, accounting for 66.3% of the total weekend market.

The film’s third consecutive weekend at No. 1 has pushed its South Korean total to $56.8 million from 7,109,368 admissions since its August 5 release. According to Korean Film Council data, The Odyssey crossed the 7 million admissions mark during the weekend and is now entering its fourth week with unusually strong advance bookings.

The performance is particularly notable because The Odyssey opened a week after Spider-Man: Brand New Day but has steadily overtaken it in weekend momentum. It is now also the biggest Christopher Nolan film ever in South Korea, surpassing Interstellar.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day remained in second place during its fourth weekend, collecting $2.9 million from 386,754 admissions. The film now stands at $61.4 million from 8,127,615 admissions in South Korea.

Although the superhero sequel remains ahead of The Odyssey in cumulative admissions, the gap has been narrowing as Nolan’s film continues to post significantly stronger weekend numbers.

Insidious: Out of the Further opened in third place in South Korea, earning $547,555 from 71,592 admissions across 678 screens. Since its August 20 premiere, the horror sequel has collected $706,508 in total.

Local animated sequel Teenieping: Legend of the Whale Heartstone finished fourth with $480,487 from 69,482 admissions. The film has now grossed $5.3 million from 788,263 viewers since its August 5 release. Detective Conan the Movie: Fallen Angel of the Highway followed in fifth with $380,240 from 50,053 admissions.

Overall, the weekend once again highlighted two very different trends across the two markets. China continued to be driven by a combination of strong domestic titles and Hollywood imports, with Once Upon a Time in the Middle East comfortably holding No. 1 and V making a promising debut. In South Korea, however, The Odyssey continued its remarkable run, dominating its third consecutive weekend while Spider-Man: Brand New Day remained a strong second.