Box Office: Chinese Epic 'Monkey King' Tops Worldwide Chart With $46 Million Globally

Although The Wolf of Wall Street is quite funny from the moment Matthew McConaughey demonstrates that hotshot investment brokers at the end of the last century were another species altogether, it took a while to get a handle on writer Terence Winter 's and director Martin Scorsese 's tone and take. But once it sank in that this is a comic grand opera on a mighty scale, everything fell into place. Despite the huge cast, Leonardo DiCaprio is very nearly the whole show; without doubt, it's his career performance to date.

"The Wolf of Wall Street" sails past the $200 million mark, with "American Hustle" not far behind; "RoboCop" opens in its first three Asian markets, grossing $5.5 million.

A trio of films did big business at the Chinese New Year holiday box office, led by Hong Kong director Poi Soi Cheang's The Monkey King. The 3D fantasy epic grossed a massive $46 million to top the weekend's global box-office chart.

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Most of Monkey King's earnings came from China. The film is playing in a total of seven territories and has earned $54 million to date, according to Rentrak. In China, Imax theaters are reporting record business.

Chinese film Dad, Where Are We Going? opened to $34 million to place No. 2 on the weekend global chart. The third new film in China, The Man From Macau, debuted to $12.5 million.

Disney's Frozen came in No. 3 with $33.3 million in ticket sales, including $9.3 million in North America, where a sing-along version opened on Friday, and $24 million overseas. Through Sunday, the animated blockbuster's total is $864.4 million, putting it ahead of fellow Thanksgiving release The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($860 million).

Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street placed No. 4 on the global chart with $29.6 million, as it sailed past the $200 million mark worldwide. The Oscar best picture contender nabbed $26 million overseas for an international total of $122 million, and $3.6 million for the weekend in North America. The film's total through Sunday is $226.1 million.

New 3D fantasy adventure Viy broke records in Russia, grossing $17.7 million to score the biggest opening ever for a local film and the fourth biggest opening of all time. The debut is a victory for Universal, which is handling the film in Russia.

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Among other best picture nominees, David O. Russell's American Hustle all but hit $200 million, as it ended Sunday with a worldwide total of $199.6 million. Weekend ticket sales came in at $10.3 million, including $6 million overseas and $4.3 million domestically.

Steve McQueen's harrowing slave drama 12 Years a Slave neared the $100 million mark over the weekend, grossing a strong $11.1 million overseas for a foreign total of $50.6 million. In the U.S., 12 Years grossed $1.4 million for a domestic total of $45.8 million and worldwide cume of $96.4 million.

MGM and Sony's RoboCop made its first outing ahead of its North American launch on Feb. 12, grossing $5.5 million from Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, where it opened roughly on par with Iron Man.