Moviegoers queue at the box
office of a Beijing cinema for "The Warlords" opening on Wednesday,
December 12, 2007.
Hong Kong director Peter Chan's "The Warlords" took in more than
10 million yuan (1.3 million US dollars), at the box office in the
first few hours following its release.
The war epic premiered in several Chinese cities at 6 p.m. on
Wednesday.
Yu Dong, president of Poly-Bona, one of the movie's producers,
told a reporter with Chinese Web portal Sina.com that he believed
box office income could double on Thursday, when the movie opens
nationwide.
"The Warlords" could potentially break the box office records
set by Zhang Yimou's "Curse of Golden Flower," Yu Dong said.
The movie, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu
Jinglei, tells the tale of three blood brothers and their struggles
against a backdrop of war and political upheaval. It is scheduled
for North American release next March.
(CRI December 14, 2007)
