Aamir Khan-starrer action-adventure Thugs of Hindostan, which fell short of expectations at the domestic box office when it released in November 2018, has collapsed at the mainland box office too, with a disappointing 17-day running total of $9 million (Rs 64 crore).

The film, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Yash Raj Films, has become the third least grossing Indian import of 2018, only besting the dismal lifetime totals of duds such as Salman Khan-starrer Sultan ($.5.24 million) and Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor-starrer 102 Not Out ($4.3 million). Thugs of Hindostan vanished from the daily box office chart in China during the end of the second week itself, after facing stiff competition from Hollywood films such as Bumblebee, Aquaman and Creed II, and local blockbuster Kill Mobile.

After sitting in the first half of the daily box office chart in the first week, Thugs of Hindostan slipped to the ninth spot on 4 January, which marked its beginning of the second week. Throughout the second week, the film failed to recover from the bottom-most positions at the daily chart before it disappeared entirely on 9 January, when it was replaced by local drama The Photographer  and documentary Four Springs.

The 17-day China cumulative of Thugs of Hindostan at Rs 64 crore has powered the worldwide takings of the film to Rs 330 crore, making it the fourth highest earning Bollywood film of 2018 after Sanju, Padmaavat and Simmba, which has set the box office on fire with a global running total of Rs 360 crore. Thugs of Hindostan had leaped past the worldwide earnings of Salman Khan's box office dud Race 3 during the second-week run in the Middle Kingdom. While Maoyan, China's popular movie ticketing and box office platform, had predicted the lifetime total of Thugs of Hindostan as 96.1 million yuan ($14 million), the film is limping at the ticket window with a meager 61.37 million yuan ($9 million).

Aamir, who enjoys an enviable fan following in China, has faced his first significant box office flop in a long time through Thugs of Hindostan, after delivering consecutive hits in the PRC with Dangal and Secret Superstar in the last two years. While his Dangal is still the highest grossing non-Hollywood film in China and attained an incredible feat in 2017 as the highest rated film on China's influential social networking and movie reviewing platform Douban, Secret Superstar dethroned Japanese animation blockbuster Your Name to become the second highest earning non-Hollywood import film in the PRC. In fact, Secret Superstar ($118 million; Rs 760 crore) was the 10th top grossing foreign film of 2018 in China.

Meanwhile, Thugs of Hindostan has steered Aamir's cumulative box office receipts in the PRC to $350 million, an unprecedented milestone for an Indian actor in the world's second largest movie market. Now, the top five best performing Indian imports of 2018 in mainland China are Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan ($45.4 million), Hindi Medium ($32.7 million), Hichki ($21.4 million) and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha ($14.2 million).

Padman winds up China theatrical run with Rs 70.5 crore total

Akshay Kumar's Padman has finished its theatrical run in the Middle Kingdom with an average total of $10 million from 31 days. Although the film has not performed better than Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which amassed Rs 97.2 crore, Padman has scored more than Baahubali 2 : The Conclusion, Thugs of Hindostan, Sultan and 102 Not Out.
 
The $10 million (Rs 70.5 crore) lifetime total of Padman has pushed the overseas takings of the film to $14 million (Rs 96 crore) and the worldwide earnings to Rs 201 crore. Now, Padman has dethroned Alia Bhatt-starrer Raazi to become the ninth highest grossing film of 2018. While the PRC cumulative of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha helped Akshay register his first Rs 300 crore film,  Padman has given the actor a considerable push in China with its worldwide earnings standing at Rs 201 crore.