Tom Holland and ‘Uncharted’ Stay No. 1 at Box Office

Tom Holland appears in a scene from "Uncharted." (AP)
Tom Holland appears in a scene from "Uncharted." (AP)
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Tom Holland and ‘Uncharted’ Stay No. 1 at Box Office

Tom Holland appears in a scene from "Uncharted." (AP)
Tom Holland appears in a scene from "Uncharted." (AP)

For the eighth time in the last two and a half months, a movie starring Tom Holland is No. 1 at the box office.

The Sony Pictures videogame adaptation “Uncharted," starring Holland and Mark Wahlberg, led ticket sales for its second weekend of release with $23.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

“Uncharted” held well, too, dropping a modest 46% from its $44 million debut. In two weeks, it's made $83.4 million in US and Canadian theaters.

“Uncharted,” a long-in-development adventure film about lost treasure that cost $120 million to make, is packing theaters overseas, too. With a mid-March China release date still looming, “Uncharted” added $35 million overseas, bringing its worldwide gross to $226.4 million so far.

The film’s robust international sales includes box office from Russia, where studios have thus far elected to keep movies in release after the country invaded Ukraine earlier in the week. The Ukrainian Film Academy on Saturday called for a boycott of the Russian film industry following the invasion.

On the heels of the blockbuster business for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the success of “Uncharted” has minted the expanding star power of the 25-year-old Holland. “No Way Home," which led the box office six times over December and January, is still one of the top draws in theaters. This weekend, it landed in third place with $5.8 million, edging it closer to $800 million in domestic ticket sales.

While both “Uncharted” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” have benefited from brand recognition, rarely has one movie star reigned so much over a 12-week span in theaters.

Star power, too, has kept the Channing Tatum-led “Dog” at the number two spot. The MGM release, which Tatum co-directed with Reid Carolin, declined just 32% with $10.1 million in its second weekend of release. So far, the film — in which Tatum plays an Army Ranger paired with an Army dog on a road trip — has made $30.9 million against a $15 million budget.

With the release of Warner Bros.' “The Batman” coming on Friday, few new wide releases opened in theaters — and the ones that did struggled to make an impression.

The Foo Fighters' horror-comedy “Studio 666," released by Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment, went the widest, opening in 2,306 theaters. The movie, starring Dave Grohl and company as themselves while making their 10th record in a haunted house, debuted with $1.5 million.

The repeated delayed “Cyrano,” starring Peter Dinklage, launched in 797 theaters and totaled $1.4 million for MGM. The musical, directed by Joe Wright, has been warmly received by critics, might have benefited from a boost in Oscar nominations, but after several major Golden Globe nominations, it landed only a nod for costume design.

The new release that performed best is five decades old. Paramount's 50th anniversary, remastered release of Francis Ford Coppola's “The Godfather” debuted with $900,000 in 156 theaters.



English Version of Animated Chinese Hit 'Ne Zha 2' Heading to Theaters

FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
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English Version of Animated Chinese Hit 'Ne Zha 2' Heading to Theaters

FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Michelle Yeoh poses during the Oscars arrivals at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

A24 and CMC Pictures are teaming up to bring an English-language version of the globally successful Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" to theaters in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on August 22, the companies said on Wednesday.

The animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" overtook Pixar's "Inside Out 2" in February to become the highest-grossing animated film globally, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan.

"Ne Zha 2" amassed a total box office of 12.3 billion yuan ($1.71 billion) including pre-sales and overseas earnings, making it the eighth highest box office film worldwide, Reuters reported.

The English-language cast will include Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh. No other voice actors have been announced so far.

"I'm honored to be part of Ne Zha 2, a landmark in Chinese animation and a powerful reminder of how universal our stories can be," the Malaysian actor said in a statement.

The sequel film follows the first "Ne Zha" film from 2019 and is based on Chinese mythology.

The story follows Ne Zha, a rebellious young boy, who is feared by the gods and born to mortal parents with wild, uncontrolled powers.

He's faced with an ancient force intent on destroying humanity and must grow up to become the hero the world needs.

The film, which will be released in IMAX and 3D, was written and directed by filmmaker Yang Yu, who also developed the first movie. Over 99% of the mythological movie's box office income came from mainland China, starkly in contrast to Hollywood films, which typically rely on a more global distribution strategy.

"Ne Zha 2" is based on a 16th century Chinese novel "The Investiture of the Gods," depicting a hero boy with magic power who tried to defend Chentangguan, a fortress town.