Chinese animated powerhouse Ne Zha 2 has surpassed Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens to secure its spot as the fifth highest-grossing film of all time globally.
According to data from ticketing platform Maoyan, the film's global earnings, including presales, have exceeded 15.019 billion yuan (about 2.09 billion U.S. dollars) as of Saturday.
The milestone was reached just 45 days after the film's release during the Chinese New Year on Jan. 29.
This adds to an impressive list of records for the film, which became the first film to gross 1 billion U.S. dollars in a single market, the first non-Hollywood title to enter the billion-dollar club, and the highest-grossing animated movie of all time worldwide.
Ne Zha 2 storms into all-time global box office top 5
Ne Zha 2 storms into all-time global box office top 5
Ne Zha 2 storms into all-time global box office top 5
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday warned against "extreme optimism or pessimism" in the country about the indirect talks between Iran and the United States.
He made the remarks at a meeting with senior government officials in Iran's capital Tehran while pointing to the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Iran’s nuclear program and removing sanctions, the first round of which was held in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday, according to a statement published on his website on Tuesday.
"We should not be extremely optimistic or extremely pessimistic about these talks," he said, adding that the negotiations may or may not yield results.
He stressed, "We are, of course, very distrustful of the other side. However, we are optimistic about our capabilities."
The Iranian leader also cautioned against "tying the country's affairs to the talks," emphasizing that activities in industrial, economic, construction, and cultural sectors, as well as the implementation of major projects, should proceed uninterrupted, as they are unrelated to the talks in Oman.
The second round of the indirect talks between Iran and the United States is scheduled to be held on this coming Saturday in Muscat.
According to U.S. media reports on Tuesday, the second aircraft carrier strike group deployed by the U.S. military in the Middle East had arrived in waters near Yemen, ahead of the second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Satellite images show that the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is currently positioned near Socotra Island off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, according to the U.S. media reports.
Accompanying it are a cruiser and two destroyers, thus forming a dual U.S. carrier strike group in the region.
The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, headquartered in Bahrain, declined to provide details about the mission of this carrier strike group.
The latest talks between Iran and the Untied States were proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs if Iran did not come to an agreement with the United States over its nuclear program.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress.
Iranian leader warns against extreme optimism, pessimism about talks with US
