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Subject: Ip Man 3, the third installment of the hit kung fu franchise based on the life of a martial arts master, has enjoyed massive success on its opening weekend in China
Excerpt: English text from the archived bilingual edition · Chinese edition
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Ip Man 3, the third installment of the hit kung fu franchise based on the life of a martial arts master, has enjoyed massive success on its opening weekend in China
According to estimates from the Beijing-based box office monitor Ent Group, the fight flick grossed 443 million yuan in just three days
This may seem like good news, except that the high earnings were marred by fraud allegations that Dayinmu Film Distribution, the distributor of Ip Man 3, is bulk-purchasing discount tickets through cinema chains across the country to enhance the film’s perceived performance
Ticket sales for Ip Man 3 surpassed 300 million yuan on March 5, the second day since its opening. This is a mind-blowing figure in March, when box office performances tend to be weak
Internet users began to speculate on the authenticity of box office earnings, with renowned Sina Weibo user dianyingpiaofang, calling to "stop films from paying the price of these actions."
Signs of this dubious phenomenon started to spread on China’s social media, from the surge of ticket sales from a single cinema, sold-out ghost screenings at midnight，fully booked front two rows in theaters in advance, and abnormally high ticket prices alleged to falsify an enhanced performance at the box office
“Only when cinemas reach a certain number of screenings can we receive subsidies from them. I personally opted for increasing the number of invalid screenings for the subsidies.”
“I apologize for any of the inconveniences this may have caused, and I state that this cinema has not signed any agreements with the distributor of Ip Man 3," said Jin Zhe, marketing manager at China Film Cinema Guranggu Tianhe branch
Several e-ticketing institutions, including Maoyan and Baidu Nuomi, have all received notices from SARFT to investigate the abnormal fluctuations in the ticket sales of Ip Man 3
SARFT has also asked e-ticketing institutions to provide their contracts with the distributor of Ip Man 3 for further scrutiny
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