"Curse of the Golden Flower" breaks box office records, Golden Globe passes

BEIJING Dec. 19, 2006 (Credits to xinhua)

While Chinese director Zhang Yimou's 45-million dollar epic movie broke opening-weekend box office records the film may find itself cursed when it comes to critical acclaim.

"The Curse of the Golden Flower" raked in a record 96 million yuan during its first weekend in Chinese theatres, but the Golden Globe Awards has given the film a pass.

"Curse" continues to pull in 30 million yuan a day in ticket sales but it failed to win a nomination for best foreign-language film this weekend when Golden Globe Awards list of nominees were announced.

The all-time box office record in China was set in 1998 by "The Titanic" which earned 350 million yuan (44 million U.S. dollars).

Zhang Yimou's "Hero" released in 2002, currently holds the box office record for Chinese movies with 250 million yuan in revenue. Its opening weekend box office take was 53 million yuan.

Zhang Yimou is happy box office returns of his latest film, saying he'll continue to make similar epics on an ancient theme.

"Curse", which stars Gong Li, Chow Yun Fat and Taiwan pop star Jay Chow, tells the story of an imperial family's slow decline and features spectacular battle scenes between the sons of the reigning emperor and empress.

Rejection by the 64th Golden Globe Awards, which received 56 nominations from around the world, does not bode well for the producers of "Curse". They, and the country's film administration, have submitted "Curse" as one of two Chinese films seeking an Oscar nomination.