Chinese epic 'Warlords' rakes in $14M in opening weekend

HONG KONG--Chinese cinema's main Christmas offering, "The Warlords," has raked in US$14 million (€9.7 million) across Asia in its opening weekend, including US$12.2 million in mainland China, where it faced no major Hollywood competition.

The US$40 million production starring Jet Li made US$1.1 million in Hong Kong Thursday through Sunday; US$685,000 in Singapore; US$300,000 in Malaysia and US$192,300 in Indonesia, according to figures issued Tuesday by Hong Kong film company Media Asia, one of the investors in the film.

Making US$12.2 million in China in four days is a stellar result. A film that grosses US$20 million in total is considered a big hit.

By comparison, the Hollywood movie "Transformers" made more than US$13.5 million in its first week in China earlier this year, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. "Spider-Man 3" made US$11.5 million, also in a week in China, according to Sony Pictures.

News source: Chinese epic 'Warlords' rakes in $14M in opening weekend (Associted Press)

News tag: The Warlords boxoffice Peter Chan Jet Li

Related titles: The Warlords (2007)

Related persons: Peter CHAN Ho-San Jet LI Andy LAU Tak-Wah Takeshi KANESHIRO

Related companies: Media Asia Films Inc.