Cameron’s 3D version of ‘Titanic’ captures China’s imagination
Cameron's new 3D version of the global smash of 1997 hit screens across China on Tuesday and collected the second-highest single day take for a film in the country. — AFP-Relaxnews picHONG KONG, April 13 — The first time James Cameron's Titanic screened in China it was a sensation; the second time it is proving to be all that – and a little bit more.
Cameron's new 3D version of the global smash of 1997 hit screens across China on Tuesday and collected the second-highest single day take for a film in the country, with studio estimates that the film took in 73 million yuan (RM35.2 million), according to the Los Angeles Times.
With the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the famed liner falling this weekend, interest in the tragedy is high and the film has been given immense support by cinemas everywhere.
In what is also an indication of just how far the Chinese film industry has developed over the past 14 years, the 3D version of Titanic this week opened in 3,500 cinemas compared to the 180 that screened the original.
Titanic went on to take a then-record 360 million yuan (RM174 million) from the Chinese box office, a mark that was first bettered by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (RM217.2 million) and the current record holder Avatar (RM471 million). The best opening ever in China was last year's Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which amassed 94.6 million yuan (RM45.6 million).
South Korea was over the past week also treated to the 3D version of Titanic, but the film has been on a far more limited release than in China, as the domestic hit Architecture 101 continues to draw the bulk of everyone's attention.
The Lee Yong-joo directed romance – which sees former college sweethearts reunited and stars box office draws Han Ga In and Uhm Tae Woon – sold a further 454,000 tickets to take its three-week total to just over 2.3 million.
In second place was the Hollywood hit Hunger Games with just over 270,000 admissions from its opening weekend, according to Han Cinema. Titanic picked up around 120,000 admissions.
The reign of Doraemon has meanwhile come to an end in Japan with the animated hit Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles - Animal Adventure falling to third place on the box office charts over the past week.
Top spot instead went to the thriller Spec Ten, which stars Toda Erika and Kase Ryo as detectives who investigate cases involving people with special abilities and is, ironically, partly set on a cruise liner.
The film made US$5.7 million (RM17.1 million) on debut, to hold off We Were Here Part 1 (RM4.5 million), and the latest Doraemon adventure, which pulled in US$1.4 million (RM4.2 million) for a six-week total of US$41 million. Titanic picked up just over US$1 million on its first week of re-release in Japan, according to Tokyo Hive.
See the trailer ...
Spec Ten (Japanese only): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5iqEWuxJQ — AFP-Relaxnews
