Hollywood star Daniel Craig's last James Bond movie 'No Time to Die' claimed the honour of deposing record-breaking local film 'The Battle At Lake Changjin' from the top of the Chinese box office. Throughout Friday, 'No Time to Die' tracked comfortably at the top of the Chinese chart, with market share as high as 55 percent in the morning sessions.

By midnight local time, that had fallen to 49 percent and the film grossed $7.76 million, including online fees, according to ticketing agency and industry tracker Maoyan, reports media. Bond grossed $8.12 million on day one, including midnight screenings. In 2015, the latest Bond film, 'Spectre,' debuted in China with a $44 million opening weekend and went on to earn an $84 million lifetime total in the Middle Kingdom.

Few in the industry expect 'No Time to Die' to achieve 'Spectre' levels, given that modest Covid outbreaks have recently reintroduced theatre restrictions in several areas, and that Chinese consumers have progressively turned away from Hollywood films in recent years. Bond's Friday figures, on the other hand, appear to be similar to those of 'Dune,' which debuted a week earlier.
'Dune' earned $6 million on its debut day and $21.6 million over the weekend.

'Dune' fell to third place in the Chinese charts on Friday. 'Lake Changjin,' which is currently in second position, has made a total of $842 million in its first 29 days of release. 'Dune' has grossed $29.2 million in China after eight days in theatres.

The limited series will star Benedict Cumberbatch as a poisoned spy

Bella Hadid's 'joy' of being an aunt to Khai Hadid; Calls Gigi Hadid's daughter the 'biggest gift'

Selena Gomez's new dating rumours are fueled by Chris Evans' Instagram story; here's why