'Curse' Is Anything But at Chinese Box Office

It took Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower just two weekends to become the biggest box-office hit in China for 2006. Daily Variety reported that the film earned $6.4 million in its second weekend, about half the $12.5 million it earned in its premier. Adding mid-week results, the film has thus far grossed a record $24.73 million, the trade publication said. China's Oscar entry for best foreign-language movie also performed well in the U.S., where it debuted midweek and went on to earn $859,000 by Sunday. It is playing in just 60 theaters. Meanwhile, Jackie Chan said on his website today (Tuesday) that he has launched a film company in China and intends to produce 10 films.