“The Mermaid” extends China’s all-time theatrical record

PanARMENIAN.Net - Stephen Chow’s watery environmentalist fantasy “The Mermaid” topped the weekend box office in China and extended its all-time theatrical record, Variety said.

The film soaked up a further $27.9 million over the Friday-Sunday weekend, a total that was three times that of second placed picture “Monkey King 2,” according to data from China’s Ent Group. That score pushes the cumulative for “Mermaid” to $481 million after 21 days, a total nearly $100 million ahead of last year’s “Monster Hunt” which previously held the record when it beat “Fast & Furious 7.”

(“Mermaid” also scored $675,000 in North America this weekend, extending its score to $2.02 million according to ComScore. That is one of the largest scores for a Chinese film in North America in recent years.)

“The Monkey King 2” was released on the same day as “Mermaid” and now has a cumulative of $177 million, after 21 days.

Third place on the week, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny” slipped to $5.56 million, giving a 10-day score of $35.9 million.

Fourth over the weekend was “The Man From Macau III” (aka “From Vegas to Macau III”) which won $5.12 million and has amassed a cumulative of $166 million after 21 days.

Newcomer, Japanese animation “Saint Seya – Legend of Sanctuary” opened in fifth place with $4.46 million, ahead of Chinese-U.S. animation “Kung Fu Panda 3.” The Panda sequel earned $4.04 million at the weekend and now stands on $149 million after 31 days. That total may have been a disappointment, but is enough to overtake last year’s “Monkey King: Hero is Back” for the record.

Nicolas Cage-starring “Left Behind” earned $3.60 million in three days for seventh place.