Need For Speed races to top of China chart

Released in 3D and IMAX 3D versions, the video game adaptation racked up 3.35 million admissions.

The only other opener over the weekend, Millennium/Nu Image’s Homefront, starring Jason Statham and James Franco, was left in its dust with $3.25m from 647,000 admissions for sixth position in the chart.  

RoboCop continued its strong run at the Chinese box office, taking $7.11m for second place, while The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug came in third with $3.67m.

Now in its third week, Robocop has grossed a total of $49.71m in China - the only market where the film is being released in 3D - while The Hobbit is on $74.73m in its fourth week.

Luc Besson’s The Family (Malavita), now in its second week, came in fourth with $3.44m for a total of $8.52m and was followed by one of only three Chinese films in the top ten – Lu Chuan-produced The Old Cindrella, which grossed $3.32m for a total of $8.33m.

Taiwanese romantic comedy Sweet Alibis, directed by Lien Yi-chi, grossed $2.04m for a total of $5.7m and seventh position in the chart.

Two US animated features took up eighth and ninth positions: Free Birds grossed $2m for a total of $6.99m, while Frozen added $1.12m for a $48.24m cume.

Rounding out the top ten was Jeff Lau’s Lock Me Up, Tie Him Down, which grossed $720,000 for a total of $4.64m.

While Bong Joon Ho’s Snowerpiercer opened on March 17, Berlin Golden Bear winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is expected to open on March 21.

Other openers this weekend include 3D action thriller Last Flight, directed by Vincent Zhou and starring Ed Westwick and Zhu Zhu, which has toned down its marketing campaign in response to the missing Malaysian plane crisis.