Following an average daily gross of 16 million yuan
(US$2?million) in its first two weeks of release, the Chinese
war epic "The Warlords" is expected to reap more than 200 million
yuan by January, making Peter Chan the second homegrown director to
achieve such box office after Zhang Yimou.
Actors Andy Lau, Xu
Jinglei, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jet Li and director Peter Chan (from
Left to Right) attend a press conference of the movie "The
Warlords" premiered in Beijing, Dec. 6, 2007.
Released nationwide on December 13, the film has already raked
in 160 million yuan despite fierce competition from other
blockbusters such as Feng Xiaogang's military drama "Assembly" and
Wong Kar Wai's star-studded "My Blueberry Nights".
"Warlords", based on a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) story, follows
the struggle of three blood brothers for a woman during a time of
war and political upheaval.
The movie was also doing great in other Chinese-speaking areas,
according to Yu Dong, president of the film's distribution company
Poly-bona.
It topped the Hong Kong box office in its first week, well ahead
of Will Smith's US blockbuster "I Am Legend". In Singapore, it took
in about 13 million yuan, a rarity in the island country's cinema
history.
"Now Zhang Yimou is the only member of the '200 million yuan
club'. With Chan coming along, he won't feel lonely anymore," said
Yu, adding it was only a matter of time before "Warlords" achieved
this number.
Shaanxi Province native Zhang directed such award-winning films
as "Raise the Red Lantern" (1991), "Hero" (2002), and last year's
blockbuster "Curse of the Golden Flower".
A record 1,027 copies of "The Warlords" -- 650 film copies and
377 digital copies -- were ordered for its mainland screening.
According to director Chan, nearly half of the film's US$40
million budget was spent on the cast, which featured Chinese action
star Jet Li, Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau, heart-throb actor
Takeshi Kaneshiro and Beijing-based actress Xu Jinglei.
In 2005, Chan entered the mainland market with the musical
romance "Perhaps Love". Though hailed by critics, the film only
grossed some 30 million yuan.
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(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)
