Chen Kaige’s THE PROMISE Breaks Box-Office Records in China
December 20th, 2005 by Andre Soares
The BBC reports that Chen Kaige’s kung fu epic Mo gik / The Promise had the biggest-ever movie opening in China, with a box-office take of US$9m in its first four days of release. Since the article doesn’t explain if this record-breaking opening takes into account inflation, I assume that it doesn’t.
Mo gik, which reportedly has been retitled Master of the Crimson Armor - making it sound like a cheap kung fu flick - for the U.S. market, is China’s submission for the Academy Awards and is up for a Golden Globe in the Best Foreign-Language Film category. The film stars Jang Dung-Kun from Korea and Hiroyuki Sanada from Japan. Mo gik’s estimated $42m budget is supposed to be the highest in Chinese history.
Among Kaige’s best-known films are Ba wang bie ji / Farewell My Concubine (1993) and Feng yue / Temptress Moon (1996), both starring Gong Li and Leslie Cheung.
Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association 2005 winners
Southeastern Film Critics Association 2005 winners
Hollywood Foreign Press Association 2005 Golden Globe Award nominations
Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics’ Choice Awards 2005 nominees
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