Courtesy of Legendary Pictures; Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

The distinct tastes of China's growing and diversifying film market have yielded no shortage of box-office surprises. While the Star Wars saga remains a modestly performing franchise in the Middle Kingdom (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story earned just $65.9 million there, compared with $531 million in North America), other titles that attracted minimal notice in U.S. cinemas have put up eye-popping numbers in China.