China box office: ‘Zootopia’ nears $200 million, ‘Batman v Superman’ opens strong

Reporting from Beijing — “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” overpowered Disney’s “Zootopia” at the Chinese box office last week, with the Warner Bros. superhero film taking in $57.1 million in its first weekend in theaters.

The DC Comics movie opened the same day in China as it did in the U.S., a still-rare occurrence for Hollywood films. “Batman v Superman” has made more than $424 million worldwide, according to comScore estimates, with the U.S. and Canada making up 40% of those receipts and China accounting for 13%.

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Director Zack Snyder and actors Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill came to Beijing to promote the film several weeks ahead of its opening.

“Zootopia,” though, now in its fourth week in Chinese theaters, continues to enjoy strong word of mouth, according to film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway. The movie held on to the No. 2 spot last week, earning $27.1 million and bringing its total earnings in China to nearly $200 million. The film is the first animated movie to cross the 1-billion renminbi ($165-million) mark in China, Artisan said.

In third place in the seven days ending Sunday was “The Revenant,” which continues to draw Leonardo DiCaprio fans to theaters. The film opened on the mainland on March 18, several weeks after DiCaprio took home Oscar gold, and has now cleared $51 million in China, a surprisingly strong showing.

The local film “Rise of a Tomboy” took fourth place for the week, followed by Summit Entertainment’s “Gods of Egypt,” which has now earned $35.4 million in China, besting its performance in the U.S. and Canada.

Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from China

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