“Venom: The Last Dance» delivered during its pre-release buzz in mainland China China with an opening weekend that was the second largest this year for a Hollywood film.

The third film in the “Venom” trilogy grossed RMB 221 million ($31.1 million) under the conventional definition of a Friday-Sunday weekend in China, according to consultancy Artisan Gateway. But “Venom: The Last Dance” actually had a staggered opening Wednesday and closed Sunday night with a five-day cume of $45.9 million.

Local data providers show the film has exceeded ticket office in the charts for each of the five days of its release, with Saturday being by far the highest. That day, it broadcast some 150,000 screenings and raised a fraction of more than $14 million.

Premium screen supplier Imax reported that the film grossed $6 million, or about 14 percent of its five-day total in China, on its screens.

The opening weekend is the second biggest this year for a Hollywood film, behind “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which debuted over three days to $44.6 million in March. Its opening surpassed the $26.2 million gross of “Alien: Romulus,” which went on to gross more than $100 million in China.

Sony Pictures reported that “Venom: The Last Dance” had the biggest opening for a Hollywood superhero film in China since 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

Chinese audiences have shunned many Hollywood titles over the past five years, with a few exceptions, each standing out for different reasons. Chinese media praised “Venom: The Last Dance” for its greater emphasis on emotions compared to the previous two installments in the franchise. On social media, the new film has been appreciated for its anti-hero status.

“Venom,” the first film in the three-film franchise, grossed a whopping $262 million when it was released in China in late 2018, a figure that surpassed its tally in North America. The sequel, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” was initially given a date in China, but with the country under various COVID-related restrictions, the release did not happen.

In second place last weekend was “The invisible sister“, a dramatic thriller about an actress who receives anonymous threats and a visit from a long-estranged sister. It raised 71.2 million RMB ($10 million) in two days.

The film is directed by Midi Z, a Chinese-speaking director from Myanmar who has made most of his previous films in the art and documentary genre and is largely based in Taiwan.

The film, backed by Linmon Pictures and adapted from a novel by Zhang Yueran, stars the popular Zhao Liying. It will make its international debut starting Monday in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The patriotic war film “The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death” took third place in its fourth weekend of release with a score of $4.6 million. Since its release on September 30, in time for the national holiday week, the film has accumulated $161 million.

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” the third film in the “Harry Potter” franchise, which is being re-released in its entirety, grossed $4.1 million in its three-day opening weekend.

The current year’s Japanese animated film “Look Back” debuted in fifth place in China, earning $4 million. The film depicts the friendship of two socially opposed girls, brought together by their love of manga.