ROBOCOP ARRIVES AT TOP OF CHINESE BOX OFFICE

Business was booming at the Chinese box office for the second week in a row. RoboCop, which has flopped in North America, opened with $20.67 million in China, where it was converted to 3D in order to qualify under a 2012 trade agreement that expanded the quota of foreign films that may be imported into the country by 14, provided that the additional films are distributed in the 3D or IMAX formats. RoboCop is being distributed in the 2D format everywhere else. RoboCop led the international box office over the weekend with $30 million. In its second weekend at the Chinese box office The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugh took in $12.1 million; it added $3.9 million during its opening weekend in Japan.