'Crazy Rich Asians' and 'Searching' make history at the box office

Henry Golding and Constance Wu star in 'Crazy Rich Asians.'

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, two movies with Asian actors in the lead roles are among the top ten in ticket sales at the same time.

Crazy Rich Asians, with its all-Asian cast, led box office receipts for the third week in a row. It took in $28.3 million over the Labor Day weekend. Searching, which debuted Friday and stars John Cho, came in fifth with a respectable $7.7 million.

In Searching, Cho plays a father who uses social media to find his daughter. The film, directed by Asian American Aneesh Chaganty, exceeded the $7 million forecasted by Box Office Mojo. RottenTomatoes.com said 90 percent of critics recommended the film.

The romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, which was made for $30 million, has continued to defy the overall comedy slump gripping the U.S. box office for the past several years. The Jon Chu-directed pic racked up over $117 million in its first three weeks, besting the $110.2 million earned domestically by the last comedy, the 2015 film Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer.

CRA's ticket sales was boosted by an unprecedented attendance by Asian Americans. Many wealthy Asian Americans bought out entire theaters in the #GoldOpen campaign.

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