Home>News Center>Life
         
 

Jet Li's 'Hero' tops box office in debut
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-30 11:46

"Hero," Jet Li's acclaimed martial-arts epic, vanquished giant snakes, serial killers and a gang of superbabies to debut as the top weekend film with US$17.8 million.


Two years after opening in China, the martial arts thriller 'Hero' set a record for an Asian film in North America, kicking off at No. 1 with a better-than-expected haul of US$17.8 million, according to studio estimates issued on August 29, 2004. Jet Li stars in the film. [Reuters]
 

"Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," a sequel to 1997's monster-serpent flick, opened in second place with $13.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The weekend's other new movies debuted weakly. The serial-killer tale "Suspect Zero," starring Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley and Carrie-Anne Moss, came in at No. 10 with US$3.4 million.

"Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2," a follow-up to the 1999 kid flick, finished at No. 11 with US$3.3 million.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, "Exorcist: The Beginning," tumbled to fifth-place with US$6.7 million, a steep 63 percent drop from its US$18.1 million debut.

Overall, the top 12 movies grossed US$84.7 million, virtually unchanged over the same weekend a year ago.

With Hollywood's summer season wrapping up over Labor Day weekend, the industry will finish slightly ahead of summer 2003's revenue record of US$3.9 billion. But factoring in higher admission prices, the number of tickets sold will lag a bit behind last summer's.

"Hero," nominated for the foreign-language Academy Award for 2002, is director Zhang Yimou's saga of China some 2,000 years ago. The film stars Li, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Dao Ming, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Donnie Yen, a lineup of Asian superstars that distributor Miramax calls the "`Ocean's Eleven' of Chinese films."

"It obviously hit a nerve and certainly bodes well for Chinese films and foreign-language films," said Rick Sands, chief operating officer at Miramax, which opened "Hero" in 2,031 theaters, unusually wide for a foreign-language movie. "We believed in the movie and went for it."

Presented in Mandarin with English subtitles, "Hero" twists through several retellings of an assassination plot against the ruthless leader of Qin, who seeks to subjugate China's other six kingdoms and became the land's first emperor.

The stories, character motivations and even color schemes change with each retelling as the film weaves toward the ultimate truth of events.

Critics raved over the cinematography, romance, lush imagery and glorious fight sequences, whose balletic grace rivals that of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the 2000 martial-arts hit.

"We talk about the dog days of August, but maybe these are the days of opportunity for certain types of films to do well after the blockbuster onslaught of early summer," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "This is a time when competition is a lot less fierce, and a movie like 'Hero' can take advantage of that."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.


1. "Hero," US$17.8 million.


2. "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," US$13.2 million.


3. "Without a Paddle," US$8.7 million.


4. "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," US$8.1 million.

5. "Exorcist: The Beginning," US$6.7 million.

6. "Collateral," US$6.3 million.

7. "Open Water," US$5 million.

8. "Alien vs. Predator," US$4.8 million.

9. "The Bourne Supremacy," US$4.6 million.

10. "Suspect Zero," $3.4 million.



Gong Li portarys Chinese version of 'Cold Mountain'
Paris Hilton to publish 198-page memoir
Chinese 'sorcerer' kills 10 then sells bodies
  Today's Top News     Top Life News
 

Money can't buy happiness, as saying goes

 

   
 

Wen calls for support of non-State business

 

   
 

Six overseas diplomas not recognized

 

   
 

Beijing to upgrade subway lines, systems

 

   
 

China trying to diversify energy supply

 

   
 

Jiang urges improving military equipment

 

   
  China announces gene bank to clone pandas
   
  First steps in cloning from dead
   
  China chastises universities on queer sex education
   
  Sexually frustrated chimp takes up smoking
   
  Talking Dutch toilets flush with comments
   
  Tigers earning their wild stripes
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Feature  
  Chinese Lady Dai leaves Egyptian mummies for dead  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产亚洲精品第一综合| 巨大欧美黑人xxxxbbbb| 日日躁夜夜躁狠狠躁| 亚洲视频免费播放| 青青草视频ios| 在线无码午夜福利高潮视频| 丰满少妇高潮惨叫久久久一| 欧美另类videosbestsex高清| 再深点灬舒服灬太大了添a | 欧美日本一区二区三区道| 午夜无码A级毛片免费视频| 国产女人18毛片水| 国内自拍视频一区二区三区| 中文全彩漫画爆乳| 日韩在线观看第一页| 亚洲欧美日韩在线线精品| 精品国产乱码久久久久久浪潮 | 97久视频精品视频在线老司机| 成年女人免费v片| 久久综合色视频| 欧美福利电影在线| 免费福利视频导航| 莲花宝鉴无删减电影在线看| 国产真实乱对白精彩久久| 97青青草原国产免费观看| 性欧美videos高清喷水| 久久国产精品久久精品国产| 欧美成人中文字幕dvd| 任我爽精品视频在线播放| 美女隐私免费视频看| 国产女同疯狂摩擦系列1| 18禁无遮拦无码国产在线播放 | 在线观看免费精品国产| 中国一级毛片录像| 日本精品视频在线观看| 亚洲免费综合色在线视频| 热re99久久精品国产66热| 十八岁污网站在线观看 | 欧美黑人疯狂性受xxxxx喷水| 午夜免费不卡毛片完整版| 边吸奶边扎下面|