Japanese animation film “Suzume” made just shy of $50 million on its opening weekend in mainland Chinese theaters.

Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, shows “Suzume” grabbing the top spot at the box office with $49.6 million (RMB342 million) between Friday and Sunday.

That is the biggest opening score by any film this year outside of the Chinese New Year holiday week in late January. The next best is “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” which opened with $19.4 million in mid-February.

Directed by Shinkai Makoto, “Suzume” was a hit in Japan where it was released late last year and has remained on screens for a $105 million total. It played in February at the Berlin Film Festival, where it came away largely empty-handed, but has subsequently performed strongly in the Asian territories where it has released. (In South Korea, where it is now the second highest grossing film released in 2023, its third weekend is its strongest to date.)

“Suzume” powered the weekend to a $75.7 million box office total. Artisan Gateway calculates that the year to date total in China now stands at $2.26 billion, or some 12.5% ahead of the same point last year.

“Suzume” easily swept aside “Post-Truth” the local social-comedy drama film that had claimed the top spot in the box office charts for the previous two weeks. “Post-Truth” nevertheless delivered another $12.5 million over the weekend, for a running total of $72.8 million after 17 days on release.

Chinese-made new releases “The Best Is Yet to Come” and mystery drama “Manifesto” entered the chart in third and fourth spots, earning $5.6 million and $2.4 million, respectively.

“The Best Is Yet to Come” is a 2020 drama film directed by Wang Jing and said to be based on real events. Set in pre-Internet 2003, it follows a high school dropout who aspires to be an investigative journalist and change the world. Executive produced by indie icon Jia Zhangke, the film had its international premiere at the Venice and Toronto festivals in September 2020.

Chinese-made crime drama “Revival” took fifth place with a third weekend score of $2.2 million. After 17 days on release, it has garnered $27.7 million.

Sony’s “A Man Called Otto” also released in Chinese theaters over the latest weekend. But its performance was so negligible that Artisan Gateway did not report its figures. Local Chinese data providers point to it opening outside the Chinese top ten.

Two Hollywood titles that released earlier this month, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “M3gan” also exited the top five. Chinese sources show them with cumulative totals of $5.90 million and $2.84 million respectively.

A new video sees Jeremy Renner up and walking following his snow plow accident. Renner is an Academy Award-nominated actor known for his role as Hawkeye in the MCU and his current series Mayor of Kingstown. He suffered severe injuries when he attempted to stop a snow plow from hitting his nephew on New Year’s Day. The actor spent weeks in the hospital recovering, offering updates on his recovery via social media.

In the weeks since his injuries, Renner has continued to share details about his recovery, with a new video shared to Twitter seeing the actor up and walking.

The video sees Renner walking on a treadmill with a device around his waist, likely to help hold his body’s weight, elevating pressure on his legs. Shortly after his near-fatal accident, which saw speculation about whether he could ever walk again, the new video sees the resilient actor bouncing back on the road to recovery.

What’s Next For Jeremy Renner

His recovery still likely has months left, with plenty of physical therapy in Renner’s future. Throughout the past few months, he’s shared details about his cutting-edge rehab tech and even getting his snow plow back from the police. Additionally, while the actor still has time before he likely steps foot back in front of the camera, he has projects that he could easily slide back into when he’s ready. However, his future projects depend on how he wishes to approach his career after the healing process.

Renner’s Paramount+ series, Mayor of Kingstown, debuted its second season mere weeks after his accident. Unfortunately, the Taylor Sheridan-created series has yet to be renewed for a third season, which could be due to Renner’s current state. However, if Paramount+ sees fit, he may have more Mayor of Kingstown in his future. Renner may also have more to do in the MCU as Hawkeye, with movies like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars a few years out. However, the action-heavy nature of the role may change depending on Renner’s mobility.

Next up for Renner is the Disney+ series Rennervations, a reality series that follows the actor around the world while he implements unique renovations on vehicles. The series was filmed before his snow plow accident and is set to debut on Disney+ on April 12. If the series proves successful and Renner’s game for more, the show will likely produce more episodes. Therefore, while Renner has a long road to recovery, his continued progress and prospects still present a bright future for the actor.

Source: Jeremy Renner/Twitter

The defense lawyer of Jonathan Majors says the actor is “completely innocent” and “provably the victim” after he was arrested on Saturday in Manhattan and charged with assault and harassment in what New York Police Department described as a “domestic dispute.”

“Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows,” says criminal defense lawyer Priya Chaudhry. “We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”

Chaudhry goes on to say there is video footage from the vehicle where the alleged incident took place, witness testimony from the driver and onlookers and two written statements from the woman recanting the allegations.

“All the evidence proves that Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever,” she said. “Unfortunately, this incident came about because this woman was having an emotional crisis, for which she was taken to a hospital yesterday. The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested. We expect these charges to be dropped soon.”

Chaudhry’s statement provides additional information about the incident. Police in New York said they responded to a 911 call at a Chelsea apartment. Majors, who is 33 years old, was taken into custody without incident on Saturday night. The unnamed victim, a 30-year-old woman, was taken to the hospital after with “minor injuries to her head and neck,” according to authorities.

The police statement listed strangulation, assault and harassment as potential charges, but he was ultimately charged with two counts of assault in the third degree, attempted assault in the third degree, aggravated harassment in the second degree, and harassment in the second degree — each of which are misdemeanors or lesser charges.

A representative for Majors denied the allegations. “He has done nothing wrong,” his publicist told Variety. “We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”

Majors, a rising star in Hollywood, has recently appeared in “Creed III” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” He also received acclaim for “Magazine Dreams,” which premiered at Sundance and was acquired by Searchlight Pictures. It’s set to release on Dec. 8.