‘The Fate of the Furious’ dominates China’s box office for the second week

Universal Pictures’ “The Fate of the Furious” continues to put up huge numbers at the Chinese box office, grossing $54.3 million last weekend after a strong opening run.

After grossing $190 million in its mid-April opening weekend, F. Gary Gray’s film — the eighth in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise — has fueled a massive 10-day total of $318 million in China.

The movie surpassed director Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction” to become the second-biggest Hollywood blockbuster ever at the Chinese box office, according to film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway.

“The Fate of the Furious” also became the fourth Hollywood film this year to fare better in China than the U.S. The others were “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage,” “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” and “A Dog’s Purpose.”

Sony’s “Smurfs: The Lost Village” came in a distant second last weekend, earning $11.1 million. Many Chinese film-goers are familiar with the “Blue Elves,” as they are known in the country. The Smurfs animated series was among the few Western shows allowed to enter China in the early 1980s.

Alibaba Pictures’ romantic comedy “Mr. Pride vs Miss Prejudice,” starring Dilraba Dilmurat, Leon Zhang and Vengo Gao Weiguang, rounded out the top three, opening with $9.9 million in ticket sales.

The romantic comedy “A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella” — starring Stephen Chow and re-released by The Xi’an Film Studio — grossed $8 million last week, dropping from the No. 2 spot in the previous week to fourth.

The action/adventure film “The Blood Hound,” produced by Western Movie Group, ranked fifth, grossing $1.8 million in three days.

Gaochao Zhang is a special correspondent.