'Monster Hunt' is a monster hit in China
Domestic film overtakes action flick to become the country's biggest box office sensation
A Chinese live-action animation film has knocked Fast & Furious 7 off the perch of the country's biggest grossing movie of all time - the first home-grown film to do so since the mainland reopened its market to Hollywood movies in 1994.
Monster Hunt, a movie about a baby monster whose life is under threat, had earned 2.4 billion yuan (HK$2.9 billion) by Friday since its debut on July 16, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
The latest in the fast car Furious franchise - starring Vin Diesel - had pulled in a total of 2.4 billion yuan in the mainland market by May.
READ MORE: Patriotic movie Monster Hunt passes Furious 7, becomes first Chinese film to take domestic box office crown in two decades
Xinhua said Monster Hunt was the first domestic film to reach the top spot since 1994, when the Communist authorities lifted a ban on Hollywood movies.
Fast & Furious 7, called Furious 7 in the United States, had taken the highest grossing movie accolade in China from Transformers: Age of Extinction. Before Transformers, the 2010 film Avatar held the top takings spot.
The mainland's rapidly growing box office continues to make records.
The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said earlier this month that the mainland's box office takings so far this year has already outstripped the total for 2014. By September 5, box office revenue had reached 30.1 billion yuan, up 48 per cent compared with the same period last year, and higher than 2014's total of 29.6 billion yuan.