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Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" rounded out the top five at the North American box office on its opening weekend, making it the biggest opening weekend for any Chinese production in recent years.
Data from measurement firm Comscore showed on Sunday that the highly-anticipated film has generated an estimated three-day cume of 7.2 million US dollars in North America through Sunday.
The animated epic fantasy film's North American pre-sale box office alone has exceeded the opening weekend box office record in North America for any Chinese-language film in the past 20 years.
Marvel's "Captain America: Brave New World" debuted atop the North American box office this weekend with an estimated 88.5 million dollars in 4,105 theaters.
"Ne Zha 2" is being released by CMC Pictures in Mandarin with English subtitles in about 750 selected theaters in North American cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Toronto, Vancouver and a few other cities with a large overseas Chinese population, according to the company.
Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, noted that "Ne Zha 2" is a "global box office juggernaut."
"The widely reported global box office success and amazing reviews of this incredible and beautifully presented animated film has put it high on the must-see list for movie fans in the North American market and that was reflected in the solid numbers this weekend," he told Xinhua.
A lady, who gave her name as Emily Li, told Xinhua that she brought her two children to watch the movie.
"Kids love the story. They even watched the original Ne Zha film online in advance for the plot," she added.
"Ne Zha 2" is a sequel to the 2019 animated blockbuster "Ne Zha." Both films were inspired by China's 16th-century classic novel "The Investiture of the Gods."
The animated film has captivated Chinese audiences with its exquisite animation production, grand visual imagination and rich cultural expression. After opening on January 29, the film swiftly smashed box office records, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in China.
As the film continues its record-breaking run, it has grossed an astounding 11.9 billion yuan (about 1.64 billion US dollars) through Sunday. It has become the first non-Hollywood production to break into the top 20 highest-grossing films ever worldwide.
Industry insiders believe the Chinese movie is on track to becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time globally. So far, the highest-grossing animated film of all time is Disney's 2024 film "Inside Out 2," which earned 1.699 billion dollars worldwide.
The success of "Ne Zha 2" has attracted widespread attention from the international media.
CNN reported that "An unruly Chinese boy who battles dragons and defies destiny has made his way to Western cinema screens after smashing box office records in China."
"For decades, China's movie market had been dominated by Hollywood blockbusters. But in recent years, homegrown titles — in genres from action and sci-fi to romance and animation — have increasingly outpaced Western films, a pivot fueled by rising cultural pride, more sophisticated storytelling and rapid technological progress," the news outlet said.
Box office：票房，指电影的总收入。
Opening weekend：上映首个周末，电影刚上映时的票房表现。
Cume：总计，通常用来表示某个特定时期的累计票房或收入。
Debuted atop：首映登顶，意思是某部电影或作品在开幕时获得了最好的成绩。
Sequel：续集，指前一部作品的后续作品。
Juggernaut：庞然大物，形容某事物非常强大且不可阻挡。
Industry insiders：业内人士，指电影行业的专家或从业者。
新闻中提到了许多关于电影票房的数据，帮助学生理解如何使用英语描述统计数字和成绩：
Estimated three-day cume（估计三天总票房）：学习如何使用估计（estimated）和 cume（累计）的表达。
Grossed an astounding 11.9 billion yuan（创下了惊人的119亿元票房）：学生可以学习如何描述令人吃惊的数字，以及如何用“grossed”来指代总收入。
Highly-anticipated：备受期待的，形容人们对某个事件或电影的高度期待。
Widely reported：广泛报道的，通常用来描述新闻或事件的广泛关注度。
Amazing reviews：好评如潮，指电影或其他作品收到的正面评价。
Solid numbers：稳定的票房数据，表示票房表现良好。
Cultural pride：文化自豪感，指对自己文化的认同和自豪。
Sophisticated storytelling：复杂的叙事技巧，表示电影的情节或故事很有深度。
Exquisite animation production：精美的动画制作，形容动画作品质量高、制作精细。
Rich cultural expression：丰富的文化表达，指电影在展示某种文化时的多样性和深度。
Passive voice (被动语态)：例如，“It has been reported” 或“is being released”，这是英语新闻中常见的被动语态，强调动作的结果或影响，而不必提到谁是执行者。
Comparatives and superlatives (比较级与最高级)：如“biggest opening weekend”（最大开幕周末）、“highest-grossing”（最高票房收入），这些都是用来比较不同事物的表达方式。
Adjectives to describe success：如“astounding”（惊人的）和“incredible”（难以置信的），这些词用于强调电影的巨大成功。
Animated film（动画片）：电影类型，特别是指通过动画制作的电影。
Epic fantasy（史诗奇幻）：电影的类型之一，强调奇幻、庞大的世界设定。
Pre-sale box office（预售票房）：指电影上映前通过预定票产生的收入。
A lady, who gave her name as Emily Li（一位女士，她自称Emily Li）：这是一个新闻常见的引用方式，用来引入某个人的观点或言论。
Kids love the story（孩子们喜欢这个故事）：通过引述个人的感受来强调电影的吸引力。
Smash box office records（打破票房纪录）：常用来形容电影、书籍等作品的巨大成功。
Put it high on the must-see list（把它列为必看电影）：表达电影受欢迎程度，可以用来描述电影成为观众的首选。
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