“Red Cliff” Breaks Records in Opening Weekend in China

John Woo’s historical epic “Red Cliff“, reportedly the most expensive film ever made in Asia, has earned 108 million yuan (15.8 million U.S. dollars) in Chinese mainland since its cinema debut last Thursday.

The opening weekend box office takings are a record for a Chinese film, compared to other domestic blockbusters such as Zhang Yimou’s “Curse of the Golden Flower“(96 million yuan) and Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon“, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

“Red Cliff” beat the Dreamworks production, “Kung Fu Panda“, which earned about 50 million yuan in ticket sales on the opening weekend.

The first of this two-part epic motion, adapted from China’s classic historic fiction Romance of the Three Kingdoms, hit cinemas in Asia on July 10.

It also opened strongly in Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia, including the Republic of Korea and Singapore, taking in a total of 25 million U.S. dollars across Asia. Read the rest of this entry

Full House For “Red Cliff” on Opening Day

The costliest Chinese film seems to have the potential to be the most profitable as well. John Woo’s “Red Cliff” opened on Thursday, attracting a full house at almost every theater screening the film. “Red Cliff”, reportedly Asia’s most expensive ever film, gained 27 million yuan (3.91 million U.S. dollars) of box office on its first-day release, setting the highest record among homemade movies.

The first of this two-part epic motion, adapted from China’s classic historic fiction Romance of the Three Kingdoms, hit cinemas in Asia on July 10.

Its first-day box office was the highest among all movies released in the mainland so far this year and higher than last year’s Hollywood blockbuster “Transformers” whose first-day box office was 22.41 million yuan.

Despite its grand premiere last week, it was the first time the two-hour and 20-minute film was screened in its entirety.

An audience member in Beijing told Sohu that she heard that John Woo had spent five years making “Red Cliff,” which aroused her curiosity in the film.

Moviegoers were also impressed by the film’s magnificence, Sohu says. “Red Cliff” is based on a well-known historical battle in 208 AD in which thousands of ships were burnt. The biggest scenes involved 2,000 actors and crew members, and around 1,300 special effects are used, an earlier report on Shanghai Daily says. Read the rest of this entry

“Red Cliff” Trailer (English Subtitles)

We now have an English subbed trailer for John Woo’s big budget period epic “Red Cliff“.

“Red Cliff” is movie with a budget of $36 million which is the most expensive ever in Chinese Cinema history.

The film is based on Chinese history in the 2nd and 3rd Century, during which China split into three kingdoms following the fall of Han Dynasty, and after decades of war and peace, reunified under a new dynasty, Jin. It tells of a battle fought with over one million men in 208 AD. During the battle, the joint force of two warlords, Sun Quan and Liu Bei, defeated the much stronger invading army led by warlord Cao Cao. Shortly after the battle, the Han dynasty officially ended and China split to three kingdoms.

“Red Cliff” has 2 parts.The first movie “The War of the Red Cliff,” is set to premiere July 10.

Production of the second movie is expected to wind up within the year, and is tentatively scheduled for a December release.

Watch the trailer after jump Read the rest of this entry

“Red Cliff” Character Posters

Today we’ve got character posters for the eight major characters in John Woo’s mega production “Red Cliff“

“Red Cliff‘ is movie with a budget of $36 million which is the most expensive ever in Chinese Cinema history and there are reports that the movie is over budget, running behind schedule, and actors have walked off the set, walked on, then walked off the set again. And more recently, bad news in the form of a dead stuntman has put a black cloud over the production.
The film stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Koyuki, Shido Nakamura, Chen Chang and Fengyi Zhang and is based on historical events that took place in China 1,700 years ago and on a chapter in the popular novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” Some 600 years after its publication, the book is still widely read in China.

The story is set in 208 AD, the mighty Han Empire was falling while China was controlled by warlords. Powerful northern warlord Cao Cao led his troops marching to the south in attempt to crash the south. Two warlords, Sun Quan and Liu Bei, set up an alliance to defend their territories.

Release dates for the film aren’t exactly stable, but a 2008 release is probably a sure bet. [via China Film Group, Lion Rock Productions, Mei Ah Entertainment]

Brand New “Red Cliff” Chinese Trailer

We got the chance to see a 9-minute Cannes promo reel for the upcoming John Woo film “The War of the Red Cliff“, and today, we have a new Chinese trailer, which features new footage.

‘The War of the Red Cliff‘ is movie with a budget of $36 million which is the most expensive ever in Chinese Cinema history.

“Red Cliff” is based on Chinese history in the 2nd and 3rd Century, during which China split into three kingdoms following the fall of Han Dynasty, and after decades of war and peace, reunified under a new dynasty, Jin. It tells of a battle fought with over one million men in 208 AD. During the battle, the joint force of two warlords, Sun Quan and Liu Bei, defeated the much stronger invading army led by warlord Cao Cao. Shortly after the battle, the Han dynasty officially ended and China split to three kingdoms.

“The War of the Red Cliff” has 2 parts.The first movie “The War of the Red Cliff,” is set to premiere July 10.

Production of the second movie is expected to wind up within the year, and is tentatively scheduled for a December release.

‘Red Cliff’ 9-minutes Cannes promo

Over the weekend a 9-minute Cannes promo reel for John Woo’s Red Cliff showed up online.

‘The War of the Red Cliff‘ is movie with a budget of $36 million which is the most expensive ever in Chinese Cinema history.

Film is based on historical events that took place in China 1,700 years ago and on a chapter in the popular novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” Some 600 years after its publication, the book is still widely read in China.

‘The War of the Red Cliff’ has 2 parts.The first movie “The War of the Red Cliff,” is set to premiere July 10.

Production of the second movie is expected to wind up within the year, and is tentatively scheduled for a December release.

Watch “Red Cliff” Cannes promo after jump Read the rest of this entry

John Woo’s ‘The War of the Red Cliff’ New Photos

John Woo will be developing his first Chinese-language film “The War of the Red Cliff” after 10 years.

Chow Yun Fat has been offered the starring role and that is the first time they have worked together since the classic ‘Hard Boiled‘ in 1992.

‘The War of the Red Cliff’ is movie with a budget of $36 million which is the most expensive ever in Chinese Cinema history.

“Red Cliff” is based on historical events that took place in China 1,700 years ago and on a chapter in the popular novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” Some 600 years after its publication, the book is still widely read in China.

‘The War of the Red Cliff’ has 2 parts.

The first movie “The War of the Red Cliff,” is set to premiere July 10.

Production of the second movie is expected to wind up within the year, and is tentatively scheduled for a December release.

These days, John Woo and the cast, which includes Tony Leung, Chang Chen and Taiwanese supermodel Lin Chi-Ling, promote the films at 61st Cannes Film Festival. Read the rest of this entry