BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese animation hit "Ne Zha," in cinemas for more than 70 days, has maintained strong performance on the mainland box office charts, according to the China Movie Data Information Network.
Hitting the big screens on July 26, the film has carried its momentum throughout the monthlong summer vacation into the first week of October by securing a steady fifth place on the box office rankings in the first five days of the weeklong National Day holiday, according to the network.
It remained in the fifth spot as of 2 p.m. Sunday, entrenching its position in the face of three competitive new domestic films paying tribute to the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
The animation feature has garnered close to 4.97 billion yuan (about 703 million U.S. dollars) as of Saturday, making it the second-highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema behind the 2017 action film "Wolf Warrior 2."
Loosely based on the tale of Nezha, a mythological figure from Chinese legends, the film depicts the protagonist as a mischievous boy with cute and ugly features instead of the attractive young figure that appeared in previous remakes.
After two extensions, the film will remain in cinemas until Oct. 26.
