Thursday's Valentine's Day celebrations will feature not only
comedy-romance films but also kung fu flicks.
In addition to Stephen Chow's heartwarming sci-fi film "CJ7,"
the action-packed "Kung Fu Dunk" starring Jay Chou, and Julian
Jarrold's biographical film "Becoming Jane," movie buffs can see
two new domestic pictures.
The matrimonial comedy "Marriage Trap" by Zhang Cheng tells a
playful story of love and unexpected surprises as a man finds
himself deeply infatuated by a gorgeous con artist.
Meanwhile, "A Room for Two Persons," starring veteran performers
Zhu Shimao and Cong Shan, is a touching depiction of a middle-aged
couple confronted with a mid-life crisis and acute marital
stress.
"We made about 3.17 million yuan (US$434,000) on last year's
Valentine's Day, mostly from the Hong Kong action drama 'Protégé'
and Hollywood fantasy comedy 'Night at the Museum,'" said Wu Hehu,
deputy director of Shanghai United Cinema Lines, the city's largest
cinema chain.
Wu expects even bigger audiences on Thursday as the Chinese
Lunar New Year holiday ended just one day before.
Movie theaters in the city also did booming business over the
seven-day Spring Festival.
Shanghai United Cinema Lines took more than 13.6 million yuan at
the box office, about a 50-percent increase compared to last
year.
"Kung Fu Dunk" and "CJ7" led the way with 6.78 million yuan and
5.44 million yuan respectively, accounting for more than 90 percent
of movie tickets sold in the city last week.
Shanghai Film Art Center took in about 1.06 million yuan, half
of which came from "Kung Fu Dunk." "Compared with the 760,000 yuan
in box office sales during last year's Chinese New Year holiday,
it's a big increase," said manager Shao Zhenhua.
Like many theaters, the center has a 10-percent discount on
Thursday, with gifts such as T-shirts, mugs and bags.
(Shanghai Daily February 14, 2008)