Avengers smoke China box office competition

Superhero sequel "Avengers: Age of Ultron" dominated China's box office, taking 973 million yuan (about 157 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales, in the week ending May 17.

The latest big-screen action-fantasy, which is based on the eponymous Marvel comics characters, opened in Chinese theaters on May 12.

Action-fantasy "Chappie" landed in second place with 21.5 million yuan. Its total box office reached 85.5 million after opening on May 8, China Film News reported on Wednesday.

Third place went to domestic romance "You Are My Sunshine", which took 17.7 million yuan. Its total ticket sales hit 346.7 million yuan on May 17 after opening on April 30.

Another domestic romance, "The Left Ear", came in fourth, pulling in 12.9 million yuan in the week. Total earnings for the film have hit 479.1 million yuan since its release on April 24.

Rounding out the top five was street-racing thriller "Fast & Furious 7", which earned 9.4 million yuan in the week. It has grossed a total of 2.43 billion yuan since its release on April 12.