'Titanic' still rules in China but 'Avengers' prepare for battle
Director James Cameron's 3D version of Titanic continues to sweep all before it at the Chinese box office, crossing the 627 million yuan (76 million euro) mark over the past week as cinema goers continue to fall for the tale of star-crossed lovers the second time around.
A week's take of 151 million yuan (18.3 million euros) was enough for the blockbuster to see off the expected challenge from the Peter Berg-directed alien invasion actioner Battleship, which enjoyed the largest opening weekend ever for a Universal studio production in China of 111 million yuan (13.5 million euros), an amount that was almost double the previous record set last year by Fast Five.
The wait now is to see just how Titanic fares over the next week -- with China preparing to welcome the super hero hit The Avengers into cinemas Friday, according to Box Office Mojo.
That last film mentioned was all the rage in South Korean cinema over the past week, selling just over 1.3 million admissions, which accounted for nearly 65 percent of tickets sold across the country, according to Han Cinema.
Korean films have been enjoying a stellar year so far but the much-anticipated Jeong Ji-woo-directed romantic drama A Muse was left languishing in second place behind the Hollywood hit, picking up just under 390,000 admissions.
Local helmer Kim Hyeong-joon-I's romance Architecture 101 continued its strong showing in Korean cinemas and with a further 157,000-odd admissions has now become the third most successful local production of the year, edging out the courtroom drama Unbowed now with just over 3.6 million admissions.
The Avengers also dominated proceedings in Hong Kong, giving nothing else a chance as it opened across 154 screens and collected US$4.4 million (3.4 million euros) from its first week of release, according to Box Office Mojo.
Final tallies from Japan were still being counted as the country ends its traditional "Golden Week" for cinemas, set around the nation's Spring Festival and a time when most major studios release their annual crowd-pleasers. Golden Week ends May 5.
See the trailer ....
A Muse (Korean only): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5VYnXQHRhw
MS
