Mumbai

Throughout Friday, 'No Time to Die' tracked comfortably at the top of the Chinese chart, with market share as high as 55 per cent in the morning sessions. 

By midnight local time, that had fallen to 49 per cent and the film grossed $7.76 million, including online fees, according to ticketing agency and industry tracker Maoyan, reports variety.com. 

Including midnight previews, Bond's day one aggregate hit $8.12 million. The last Bond film, 'Spectre', opened with a $44 million first weekend in China back in 2015 before going on to achieve an $84 million lifetime score in the Middle Kingdom. 

Given that small Covid outbreaks have recently reinstated cinema restrictions in certain cities, and that Chinese audiences have increasingly turned away from Hollywood films over the past couple of years, few in the industry would expect 'No Time to Die' to reach 'Spectre' levels. 

Bond's Friday numbers, however, seem closer to those of 'Dune', which opened a week earlier. 

'Dune' scored $6 million on its first day and finished the weekend with $21.6 million. 

On Friday, 'Dune' slipped to third place in the Chinese chart. 'Lake Changjin' in second place, now has a cumulative total of $842 million, earned from 29 days on release. 

After eight days in Chinese cinemas, 'Dune' has amassed $29.2 million. 

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