‘Despicable Me 2’ Can’t Out-Cute ‘Boonie Bears’ At The Chinese Box Office


Despicable Me 2 has some adorable competition at the box office in China.

Although the sequel has made a significant chunk of change during its run in Chinese theaters, Despicable Me 2 couldn’t out-cute the locally-produced animated flick Boonie Bears: To the Rescue. The film topped the box office for the second weekend in a row.

According to estimates, Boonie Bears snagged $5.62 million from moviegoers in China over the weekend. This pushes the flick’s domestic gross to a very impressive $30.3 million, making it the most successfully locally-produced animated feature in history. The previous record was reportedly held by Mission Incredible: Adventures on the Dragon’s Tail.

In case you were wondering, Boonie Bears: To the Rescue is based on the hit CCTV series. To date, the show has over 200 13-minute episodes. Given the popularity of the kid-oriented series, it’s not altogether surprising that the movie was a huge hit with families.

However, this doesn’t mean audiences didn’t spend a lot of money on Universal’s Despicable Me 2. The film certainly gave the local favorite a run for its cinematic money, generating an additional $5.44 million to its total. The acclaimed sequel’s gross in China is presently perched at a very healthy $46.7 million.

The film’s release is definitely good news for the studio. The Inquisitr reported last year that Chinese officials yanked the film from the schedule during the summer, though no reasons for the delay were given at the time.

If you’re feeling depressed that Despicable Me 2 was defeated by Boonie Bears, then you probably haven’t taken a good look at the film’s worldwide gross lately. The flick is rapidly approaching the $1 billion mark, a figure that doesn’t take into account home video sales.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that Despicable Me 2 and Fast and Furious 6 have sold remarkably well on DVD and Blu-ray after hitting retail shelves last year. Although the movie didn’t find its way onto the top rental charts, this suggests people are simply buying the flick instead of picking it up for an evening or two.

Given the sequel’s success, it’s not altogether surprising that Universal Pictures is putting together another installment of the franchise. The studio hopes to have Despicable Me 3 on the big screen by 2017. The spin-off flick Minions will hit theaters in 2015.

Illumination Entertainment, the production company responsible for making Despicable Me 2, is also working on a new version of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas for release in 2017 as well. Producers also have an untitled project on-deck for 2016.

Are you a fan of Despicable Me 2? What do you think about the popular animates sequel getting beat by Boonie Bears: To the Rescue at the Chinese box office?

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