‘Captain America’ sequel closes in on $50 million in China in 4 days

BEIJING – In its first four days of release in mainland China, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has already racked up $47.6 million, putting it more than halfway to the total earned by “The Avengers” in the territory in 2012.

The Marvel superhero sequel opened Friday and got a boost from moviegoers during the Qingming, or tomb-sweeping holiday, which gave many workers a day off on Monday, according to data from film industry consulting firm Artisan Gateway. That’s triple the final mainland box office take of the first installment in the series.

Marvel titles have been gaining steam in China. “The Avengers” did $91.6 million worth of business here in 2012, and in 2013 “Iron Man, 3” ended its China run with $123.9 million.

Total box office for the week that ended Sunday was $70 million, Artisan said, with “Captain America” earning $37.5 million on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and accounting for 53% of all receipts. The Chris Evans-starrer came in far ahead of the No. 2 title, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.” That DreamWorks film earned $7.7 in its second week of release, and its total China take now stands at $14.8 million.

The local-language “The Truth About Beauty” placed third with $6.1 million, followed by “Need for Speed,” which earned $5.9 million. The Aaron Paul car film has now taken in almost $61.2 million in China.

In fifth place was George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men,” which earned $2.4 million for the week and has a cumulative gross of $6.8 million in China.