‘X-Men’ tops $82 million at Chinese box office

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” topped the mainland Chinese box office in the week that ended Sunday, earning more than $44.5 million and bringing its 10-day total in that market to more than $82.4 million.

U.S. superhero films have performed strongly in China this spring; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” earned more than $115 million, and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” took in nearly $93 million. “X-Men” is the sixth film to cross the 500-million-renminbi mark (about $80 million) so far this year on the mainland, industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway said Wednesday.

In second place for the week was the Hong Kong-Chinese crime thriller “Overheard 3,” from Bona Film, which earned $25.1 million in its first three days. Third place went to Zhang Yimou’s melodramatic post-Cultural Revolution drama “Coming Home,” which took in about $8.1 million and now has earned more than $42 million since its release in mid-May, Artisan said.

Fourth and fifth place went to a pair of local cartoon sequels, “Happy Little Submarine 4” and “GG Bond 2,” which earned $5.1 million and $3.9 million, respectively.

“X-Men,” “Captain America” and “Spider-Man” all held press events in Beijing to drum up fan interest, with U.S. stars flying in for news conferences and other activities. In a continuation of the trend, Angelina Jolie was in town this week to promote her recent film, “Maleficent,” which will be released in China on June 20.

In two weeks, Paramount Pictures plans a splashy premiere in Hong Kong for “Transformers 4,” a franchise that has performed well at the Chinese box office in the past; parts of the new installment were filmed in the Chinese territory last year.