"Ip Man 3" rules China's box offices, raises fraud suspicions

"Ip Man 3," a Chinese action movie, ruled box offices in the week ending March 6, earning 470 million yuan (72.1 million U.S. dollars) after opening Friday.

Hollywood animation "Zootopia" came in second in the week, pulling in 155 million yuan, China Film News reported on Tuesday. The film also opened on March 4.

Domestic sci-fi comedy "The Mermaid" took third place, raking in 145 million yuan. The film has so far grossed 3.28 billion yuan since its first release on Feb. 8.

"The Monkey King 2" took fourth place with about 35 million yuan, followed by "From Vegas to Macau III," scoring 24 million yuan.

News also came from China's top film industry watchdog that "Ip Man 3" was questioned by industry observers for pulling in more than 500 million yuan in just four days after its debut.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has questioned the film producer and distributors about the film's sales revenue and has decided to investigate the fraud allegations further.