'Boonie Bears' sets Chinese animation records
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 21, 2014
China's home-made 3D "Boonie Bears" set new opening records for a domestic animated feature film at the Chinese box office last weekend.
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A poster of China's home-made 3D "Boonie Bears" [Photo/mtime.com] |
"Boonie Bears: To the Rescue," based on the animated television series "Boonie Bears," grossed 101 million yuan (US$16.69 million) in three days since its opening. It debuted at the top of the Chinese box office on Friday, taking in 32.4 million yuan (US$5.35 million) on that day alone, consequently beating the previous record set by "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf."
The film then raked in 38 million yuan (US$6.28 million) on Saturday and another 29.6 million yuan (US$4.89 million) on Sunday. It has become the first Chinese animation movie to reach the 100 million yuan mark in such short time.
The "Boonie Bears" cartoon series has long been popular among Chinese children. The film centers on the story of lumberjack Vick and two bears. The three protagonists start out as enemies, but must team up in their quest to win back a lost treasure.
The box office results are nearly a miracle, given that the latest "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" animation franchise "Meet The Pegasus" as well as Universal's "Despicable Me 2" are also in theaters right now; not to mention the fact that the latter two also have more showings than "Boonie Bears" on its opening day.
This also sets a new record for the best opening weekend for a Chinese animated film, beating the 2012 "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" franchise's "Mission Incredible: Adventures on the Dragon's Trail," which made 73 million yuan (US$12.06 million) in its opening weekend. By general comparison, involving both foreign and domestic animations, it has become the third animation to reach the 100 million yuan mark at box offices on the Chinese mainland within a mere week since "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Ice Age: Continental Drift."
"Boonie Bears: To the Rescue" is highly likely to gross an overall 300 million yuan (US$49.59 million), industry observers said.
While "Boonie Bears" is the new star on the horizon, "Despicable Me 2" too is doing relatively well as it has grossed a total of 207 million (US$34.21 million) in its three weeks of showing. It has become the first movie in 2014 to gross more than 200 million yuan at box offices on the Chinese mainland. With the help of Chinese market, its worldwide total revenue has now reached US$954 million.
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