‘Furious 7’ ending China run with about $390 million; ‘Avengers’ debuts

Reporting from Beijing —  “Furious 7” spent its final week in Chinese theaters atop the box-office charts, taking in another $17.4 million in the seven days ending Sunday and pushing its cumulative gross on the mainland over $388 million.

With the movie moving out of cinemas Tuesday after 30 days, the Universal Pictures film’s final haul is unlikely to exceed the $400 million threshold, analysts from industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway said. Still, the seventh installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise is ending its run as China’s top-grossing movie of all time.

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” arrived in Chinese theaters Tuesday, an atypical opening day where tickets are often discounted, so its first-day tally is unlikely to break any records. Still, Artisan analysts forecast that the Marvel superhero saga will easily surpass the 1 billion-renminbi mark, or $161 million.

In second place at the box office for the seven days ending Sunday was the Chinese romance “Silent Separation.” The LeVision Pictures film collected $14.4 million in its second week of release; the movie has grossed $53 million to date.

Third place went to the Hong Kong action thriller “Helios,” which brought in $11 million.

Sony Pictures’ science fiction thriller “Chappie,” directed by Neill Blomkamp, opened Friday and debuted in fourth place on the weekly chart with $10.3 million.

Rounding out the top five was Taiwanese heartthrob actor turned director Alec Su’s “The Left Ear,” a drama that has grossed more than $75 million since its April 24 opening. An adaptation of a popular youth novel by Rao Xueman, the story focuses on a teenage girl who is partially deaf.

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