The latest smash-hit from actor-producer Aamir Khan, 'Superstar' is the first Indian film to score a revenue-sharing release under China's quota system, which is usually reserved for Hollywood imports.


India's Aamir Khan remains a king of the Chinese box office.


The Bollywood actor's latest international hit, musical drama Secret Superstar, opened in first place with $27 million, outshining 20th Century Fox new release Ferdinand and Sony's Jumanji in its second weekend.


Khan's family sports drama Dangal set an all-time record for a non-Hollywood release in China last year, earning a historic $193 million.


Superstar won't reach those heights, but its predecessor's huge success gave Khan and his partners the leverage necessary to secure a revenue-sharing quota release with China Film Group, granting the producers a 25 percent slice of all ticket sales — a concession usually extended only to high-earning Hollywood titles. Smaller international films typically are sold to Chinese distributors for a flat fee upfront, occasionally with additional backend baked-in if the film hits pre-determined performance benchmarks.


Local period romance Forever Young, meanwhile, held onto second place in its second frame, adding a healthy $23.4 million and lifting its 10-day total to $68.3 million, according to data from EntGroup. The film stars local favorites Zhang Ziyi and Huang Xiaoming.


Ferdinand scored third with $8.7. After opening in 58 markets the Carlos Saldanha-directed 3D animation — which tells the story of a pacifist bull who refuses to enter the bullfighting ring — has brought in $155.7 million.