Inception to compete with Chinese blockbusters this September
* Source: Global Times
* [23:06 August 02 2010]
After its third weekend of screening in North America, the sci-fi thriller Inception has succeeded in keeping its top spot at the box office, eclipsing all other contenders with $27.5 million, according to Xinhua reports on Monday.
The only non-sequel blockbuster this summer, Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan, is well on track to garner $193.3 million, projected statistics gathered from Canada and the US showed.
Inception will open in the Chinese mainland on September 21, although facing tough competition with four domestic films scheduled for release.
The Love of the Hawthorn Tree directed by internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and featuring 19-year-old actress Zhou Dongyu, is set to hit cinemas on September 16. Based on a popular novel of the same name, the movie tells a poignant love story set in the 1970s.
The film also marks Zhang Yimou's comeback to the art-house genre after commercial attempts such as Curse of the Golden Flower and A Simple Noodle Story. Though facing fierce competition then with many commercial films screening at the same time, producer Zhang Weiping is confident that audiences will look forward to a romantic film such as The Love of the Hawthorn Tree.
Andrew Lau's Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, will also open on September 21. Tsui Hark's suspense thriller Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame will be released on September 29, a day after John Woo's latest work Reign of Assassins. Detective Dee will be the only Chinese-language film competing at this year's Venice International Film Festival from September 1 to 11. The film will be up for the Golden Lion with 21 other features including Ascanio Celestini's La Pecora Nera, Antony Cordier's Happy Few and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.
Detective Dee is a fictional account of Di Renjie, the legendary Tang Dynasty (618-907) detective. Andy Lau plays the detective, supported by Carina Lau, Li Bingbing, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Deng Chao.