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China expects to set new box-office record this year
2008-08-06
BEIJING - China is expected to set a record for box office receipts in 2008, boosted by John Woo's epic "Red Cliff," Jet Li's "The Warlords" and the animated hit "Kung-Fu Panda". Film ticket sales are expected to top four billion yuan (590 million dollars), beating a record of 3.33 billion yuan set last year, Xinhua reported, citing the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the administration's film bureau, did not provide a detailed analysis, but credited a steady rise in the number of Chinese-made productions with helping sales, the report said. The number of movies produced by China reached 402 in 2007, another new record, the agency cited Zhang as saying. Blockbusters released by the China Film Group Corporation have earned more than 700 million yuan in the last nine months, said the company's chief executive, Han Saiping. Of those, "Red Cliff" has pulled in 290 million yuan, with "The Warlords" and "Changjiang 7" starring Stephen Chow collecting the rest, the report said. Hollywood's "Kung Fu Panda" broke box office records for animated films in China, raking in 135 million yuan in its first three weeks, according to previous state media reports.
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