‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ beats ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in China

Chinese audiences got their fill of superheroes Monday, with both The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises opening on the same day. Spider-Man just barely came out on top.

Spider-Man, which opened at 2,515 locations in China, grossed $5.46 million. This also helps push the Andrew Garfield-starring film over the $700 million mark worldwide. The Dark Knight opened at 2,400 locations and made $4.5 million, the highest opening ever for a Warner Bros. 2D release.

According to The Wrap, Spider-Man managed a win thanks to its shorter running time, more locations and a higher price due to 3D. As for TDRK, Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film did well in IMAX theaters, making $516,000.

China Film Group handles the film distribution business in China and picked the simultaneous release for both films, which were released months apart in the U.S., as a way to diminish Hollywood’s overall impact on the Chinese box office. Warner Bros. did try to get China Film Group to change TDKR’s release date, but it was unsuccessful.

China Film Group also pulled a similar stunt with the animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift and The Lorax. Ice Age won easily, making $15.4 million, while The Lorax made just $964,000.

TDKR still has to open in Italy on Wednesday. Its worldwide total is $942.3 million, so it is very likely that it will become the 13th film to ever reach the $1 billion total worldwide.