China Box Office: Aamir Khan's 'Superstar' Wins Crowded Weekend

"Secret Superstar became the second Indian film to top the Chinese box office in less than a year. Picking up some of the pace of the earlier "Dangal, "Superstar grossed $27.0 million in its opening weekend, beating holdover romance "Forever Young with $23.4 million.

The win for "Superstar was built on the actor-producer Aamir Khan, who confirmed that he has genuine name recognition and a fan base in China, and a rare revenue-sharing release. Khan is the only performer from the prolific Indian film industry to have such a hold in the world's most populous nation, and all sorts of Sino-Indian cinematic connections are now being concocted.

Khan is now touring China in order to support the film as it enters the short window ahead of Chinese New Year, which will see a host of local Chinese film releases. That will likely prevent the "Superstar getting anywhere near the incredible $193 million performance of "Dangal last year. Earlier this month "Star Wars: The Last Jedi opened with $28 million. It earned $910,000 in ninth place this weekend and currently stands at $41 million.