Ne Zha 2 ranks among overseas box office top 15

Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 grossed over 37.09 million U.S. dollars on the overseas market, taking 15th place at the international box office by Chinese films, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan on Friday.

The highest-grossing movie ever in China was released in domestic theaters on January 29 and has been screened in many overseas markets since mid-February this year, including North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

The blockbuster has expanded its reach to international market. Distributor Trinity CineAsia won the rights to 37 countries and regions across Europe. The UK and Ireland hosted preview screenings on March 14, and a broader release will follow in France, Germany, and Spain.

According to Maoyan, the film's global earnings, including presales, have exceeded 15.2 billion yuan (about 2.09 billion U.S. dollars) as of Thursday, claiming the fifth spot on the all-time global box office charts.

Ne Zha 2 is a sequel to the 2019 hit Ne Zha. The film is based on a 16th-century Chinese novel, "The Investiture of the Gods," depicting a namesake hero boy with magic power who tried to defend his village.

Ne Zha 2 ranks among overseas box office top 15

Iran's Ministry of Tourism organized a memorial in the capital Tehran on Monday to grieve for the victims of a girls' elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, where mourners laid flowers on classroom desks placed at the site.

Up to 165 people were killed in the deadly Israeli-U.S. airstrikes on Shajareh Tayyebeh School on February 28, according to Iranian authorities.

The students were sitting behind their desks when the missiles hit their school and they were killed in a few seconds, authorities said.

Mourners, including mothers, fathers and children, recreated a classroom from the school outdoors in a powerful symbolic remembrance of the innocent young ones who lost their lives.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned the airstrikes in a statement after the attack, calling them "inhumane" and a barbaric act that "adds another dark page to the chronicle of countless crimes committed by aggressors" against Iran.

Mourners recreate classroom in Tehran in memory of girls' elementary school victims