China's highest-grossing animated film "Ne Zha 2" has remained popular among movie goers until the last day of its theatrical run on the Chinese mainland.
After shattering virtually every box office record in Chinese film history, "Ne Zha 2" concluded its theatrical run on the Chinese mainland at the end of Monday.
"I just want to watch it on the big screen because the images are very beautiful," said a movie goer in Shanghai, who went to watch the movie for the second time in cinema.
For many viewers, the image of Ne Zha in the movie not only creates a vivid Chinese animated character, but also carries cultural identity.
"I think we've seen the cultural confidence, with the content of the animation very rich and closely related to the current spirit of the times," said another movie goer.
"It does show a very thriving trend in the Chinese animation industry. After all, its box office performance is a perfect combination of favorable timing, geographical advantages and human factors, and it is indeed a very good work that integrates the essence of Chinese animation," said another movie goer.
According to ticketing platform Maoyan, "Ne Zha 2" has grossed 15.44 billion yuan -- or approximately 2.13 billion U.S. dollars -- with 324 million admissions, making it the most-watched and highest-grossing film ever in China.
While the film's domestic screenings drew to a close, its global rollout continues. Currently, its global box office sales have reached 15.91 billion yuan, or about 2.19 billion U.S. dollars, per Maoyan data.
"Ne Zha 2" remains popular until last screening day
The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.
On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.
Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.
Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.
"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.
US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar
