BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The latest blockbuster from Chinese director Zhang
Yimou, "The Curse of the Golden Flower", brought in 15 million yuan (1.9 million
U.S. dollars) within 5 hours on its first day.
The 45-million-dollar movie was on show starting from
7 pm on Dec.14 nationwide in China.
"The movie reaped 15 million yuan in the country
within 5 hours. It is reasonable to believe that its nationwide box office would
top 100 million yuan in one week, and to reach 300 million shortly after the new
year," said Gao Jun, an executive from the Beijing based New Film Association.
"We are optimistic that the film will make a new box
office record in China," said Gao.
The current box office record in China was set in
1998 by "The Titanic" with 350 million yuan (44 million U.S. dollars), while
Zhang Yimou's "Hero" in 2002 set a record box office among Chinese homemade
movies with 250 million yuan (31 million U.S. dollars).
"Hero" sold 10 million yuan (1.3 million U.S.dollars)
worth of tickets on the first day it was released.
"Curse", which stars Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Chow Yun
Fat and Taiwan pop star Jay Chow, tells the story of an imperial family's slow
decline and features spectacular battle scenes between the sons of the reigning
emperor and empress.
According to an on-line survey by Sina.com, a popular
portal website, close to 63 percent of the 1,585 respondents rated the movie as
good or excellent, and more than 64 percent said they would recommend the movie
to their friends.
"It is a fantastic movie, just like director Zhang's
previous ones. Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li really did a good job acting, and so did
Jay Chow. He did much better than his last movie," said a Beijing woman named
Shangguan, who bought 11 tickets to the movie for her family and friends.
"This is the one that can represent the movie
business in China, I think it'll win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film," she said.
The "Curse" is also receiving criticism for its
over-lavish scenes and weak storyline which also haunted Zhang Yimou's previous
epics, "Hero" in 2002 and "House of Flying Daggers" in 2004.
Fifty-five percent of those taking part in the online
survey said they were intrigued by the lavish costumes and kung fu, while
slightly more than 18 percent said they were fascinated by the
plot.
