'Spirited Away' tops Chinese mainland box office

BEIJING — Spirited Away, the 2001 Japanese animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, topped the Chinese mainland box office Friday with strong first-day performance, the China Movie Data Information Network said Saturday.

The Oscar-winning film grossed over 53.4 million yuan (about $7.97 million), accounting for nearly half the daily total.

The fantasy film tells the story of a girl's adventure in the spirit realm and her struggle to save her parents.

The movie scores 9.3 out of 10 points on Douban, China's leading film rating platform, with over 70 percent of viewers giving a five-star rating.

Pixar and Disney's animation film Toy Story 4 took the second place, raking in about 17.7 million yuan on its first day at the box office.

The newly released franchise of the Toy Story series, tells the story of a new toy called "Forky" joining Woody and the gang on a new adventure.

It has won 9 out of 10 points on Douban and earned five-star reviews from 58.9 percent of the viewers.

Men in Black: International fell to the third place, generating around 10.5 million yuan.

The domestically-produced My Best Summer pulled in 5.51 million yuan, making it the fourth highest-grossing film Friday.