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‘Star Wars’ tops $115 million in China; ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ looks formidable

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For a third week running, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” topped the box office in China, earning $18.5 million in the seven days ending Sunday for a cumulative gross of $115 million. But Po the panda has started nipping at the heels of Disney’s space odyssey.

Preview screenings of “Kung Fu Panda 3” took in $6.5 million on Saturday, box office consulting firm Artisan Gateway said. The film opens wide in China on Friday, a week ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.

A $6.5-million preview day is a record for a domestic animated film – and “Kung Fu Panda 3,” which was partially made in Shanghai by Dreamworks’ China division, Oriental Dreamworks, is not considered an imported film.

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“Kung Fu Panda 2” long held the record in China for top-grossing animated film, but it was knocked off its perch last summer by “Monkey King: Hero is Back,” which earned $147.1 million. “Kung Fu Panda 3” looks likely to surpass that record.

In second place for the week ending Sunday was the Chinese animation “Boonie Bears: To the Rescue,” which earned $13.2 million in its second week of release. The third installment in the series has now taken in $33.2 million, closing in on the sequel’s $45.4-million tally.

“The Last Witch Hunter” from Summit Entertainment came in third for the week, with $11.5 million and a cumulative gross of $21.1 million. That was followed by Wanda Pictures’ “Chinatown Detective,” which is closing out its run with $119 million in tickets sold.

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Sony’s tightrope film “The Walk” opened Friday and earned $6.8 million in its first three days, Artisan said.

Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from China

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