Despite struggling with weak reviews and the controversy surrounding cast member John Cena, F9: The Fast Saga-the latest and ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise-topped the country's box-office charts in May, according to live trackers Maoyan and Beacon.

Statistics show the blockbuster had earned 1.33 billion yuan ($207.50 million) as of Tuesday, surpassing director Zhang Yimou's first espionage film, Cliff Walkers, to become the highest-grossing film last month.

In the course of 18 days since its opening in mainland theaters on May 21, F9 stayed on top of the country's box office for most days before being overtaken by Japanese animated feature Stand by Me Doraemon 2 on June 1, Children's Day.

Over 20 years, the Fast and Furious franchise has evolved from its humble beginning as a street racers' story to one of the world's highest-grossing movie series, which has garnered more than $5 billion across the world.

During the past six years, three movies in the franchise, which now consists of nine installments and one spinoff, earned more box office in China than North America, respectively with Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017) and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs &Shaw (2019).

With China becoming one of its most important international markets, F9 exemplifies Hollywood's effort to appeal to Chinese audiences.

Vin Diesel, the backbone star of the franchise, said during an online interview with Chinese journalists last month that he once asked Universal Pictures "to do something they've never done before".

Diesel said: "We asked the studio to open Fast and Furious 9 in China first."

F9 is scheduled to debut in North America on June 25, five weeks after its China debut.

It's an unusual practice for Hollywood blockbusters, which are often released simultaneously in both locations or a few days later in China.

Diesel said the franchise's enduring theme is family-a concept bigger than the biological group with shared DNA that brings together the protagonist and his comrades.