China’s ‘Ne Zha 2’ Debuts At $7.2 Million, ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Rounds Out Top 10, ‘A Complete Unknown’ Crosses $70 Million – Specialty Box Office
Captain America: Brave New World has surpassed Ne Zha 2, the fantasy epic that has been breaking records in China, at the domestic box office, which debuted at number five with $7.2 million on 660 screens, according to Comscore.
With Demon Orb Ne Zha (voiced by Joseph) and Spirit Orb Aobing (Mo Han) having to share a body for seven days while Ne Zha fights dragons to defend his hometown, and much more, the CMC Pictures animated picture picks off where the 2019 original left off (see Deadline review). Jiaming Zhang and Deshun Wang are among the cast members, and Yang Yu (also known as Jiaozi) is the writer and director. It became the second-biggest animated film in the history of the global box office behind Inside Out 2, setting a record during the annual Lunar New Year vacation and surpassing $1.5 billion in China alone.
In week two, Sony Pictures Classics’ Becoming Led Zeppelin brought in $1.8 million on 1,039 screens, up from 369 Imax sites. Bernard MacMahon’s documentary came in at number ten with a cume of $5.5 million. The long-running movie, which has remastered live video, delves into the history of this legendary band, their quick ascent, and their music.
Strong reviews and sold-out audiences in New York and Los Angeles helped Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language open nicely at $41.1k on two screens. “We are so pleased that audiences in New York and Los Angeles were able to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Universal Language,” said distributor and executive producer Oscilloscope. It is Matthew’s ode to everything Iranian movie, even though it is not quite a romance. The early feedback is incredibly encouraging, and we have no doubt that once the movie opens, it will continue to generate goodwill.
In February and March, the Oscar shortlisted movie that took home the first-ever Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award at Cannes will be shown in theaters.
