Chinese animated film Ne Zha sets new record

BEIJING - Chinese animated film Ne Zha has grossed nearly 2.4 billion yuan ($339 million) on the Chinese mainland since its July 26 premiere, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed on Monday.

It raked in more than 675 million yuan on Aug 3-4, contributing nearly 65 percent to the total box office revenue of the outgoing weekend, said the network.

The full-length animated feature has established itself as the most popular animated film ever released on the Chinese mainland, according to the all-time China box office rankings compiled by the network.

Telling the story of Nezha, a beloved Chinese mythical figure, the film features a daring overhaul of Nezha's appearance and depicts him more as a mischievous boy instead of the heroic youngster of previous cinematic works.

The film has topped the Chinese mainland box office for 10 straight days. As of the release of this story, Ne Zha ranked third on the Chinese mainland box office list for 2019.