New Slam Dunk Movie Is Dominating China's Box Office

It seems the whole world is buzzing about Mario when it comes to the box office, but that is not the case everywhere. In fact, one of the largest markets in the world has bypassed the Super Mario movie entirely in favor of an anime classic. Slam Dunk just brought its big movie to China, and the feature is eyeing a truly historic box office run at this point.

If you did not know, The First Slam Dunk is making the rounds in China after its launch in Japan. It seems the Chinese box office is absolute devouring the animated film as its Wednesday night previews garnered over $3.16 million, and its Thursday showings earned a whopping $13.9 million. That means The First Slam Dunk earned more than $17 million at the box office in China before its opening weekend went into full swing.

As you can see, The First Slam Dunk is making bank now that its release is heading outside of Japan. When the movie went live domestically, the sports anime earned just under $98 million, and it has a global total of $138 million to date. Right now, box office experts expect The First Slam Dunk could earn more than 1 billion yuan or $145 million USD in China alone. That is some serious cash, so of course, all eyes are on The First Slam Dunk right now.

Of course, there is little surprise in seeing what kind of money the Chinese box office can bring to films. Hollywood has long banked on the massive market when touting its films, and now that anime has become more accessible in the country, animation is seeing a massive rise. While Western animation has failed to find a foothold in China, anime is thriving as we can see with shows such as Spy x Family or recent flicks like Suzume. Not even Mario has broken the curse as the Nintendo icon's movie has grossed a little more than $18 million in China in 2.5 weeks. The Last Slam Dunk surpassed that total in two days, and if reports are spot on, the sports movie is only going to gross more from here on out.

Want to know more about Slam Dunk? You can read the synopsis for Takehiko Inoue's hit series here: "Hanamichi Sakuragi's got no game with girls--none at all! It doesn't help that he's known for throwing down at a moment's notice and always coming out on top. A hopeless bruiser, he's been rejected by 50 girls in a row! All that changes when he meets the girl of his dreams, Haruko, and she's actually not afraid of him! When she introduces him to the game of basketball, his life is changed forever..."

What do you think about this box office update? Do you plan on seeing The First Slam Dunk when it hits theaters near you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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