"Wanted," "Panda" do battle in Hong Kong

Written by Patrick Frater

Monday, 30 June 2008

Story Categories: box office, Film, Hong Kong,

HONG KONG – Box office in Hong Kong demonstrated the endearing charm of pandas, but showed that “Wanted” was what auds really wanted.

UPI’s “Wanted” and PPI’s “Kung Fu Panda” opened as the top two and between them trampled over the Friday to Sunday chart. Pair accounted for fully 70% of the weekend box office.

In doing so, they showed that recent table topper “The Incredible Hulk” may have had muscles enough for two weeks, but he is quickly exhausted. Dropping fully 73%, “Hulk” tumbled from first place in its second week to seventh in its third frame.

In reverse of many other territories, “Panda” opened on slightly more screens than “Wanted” in Hong Kong, but “Wanted” came out 16% better in gross terms and 29% better in a per venue comparison. “Wanted” took $963,000 from 36 sites, “Panda” took $830,000 from 39.

Though both sets of numbers were acceptable, neither was stellar. Likely reasons include the feat of opening against each other and the dreadful weather – Hong Kong has suffered the wettest June since records began in the territory 125 years ago.

Next test for the duo will be public holiday Tuesday which marks 11th anni of Hong Kong’s handover to China.

Other openers had mixed results. Claude Berri’s Audrey Tautou-starring romancer “Ensemble, c’est Tout,” (aka “Hunting and Gathering”) embraced eighth place with a certain Gallic flair for $33,3800 on just four screens. Deltamac’s “Deception” was just that. Despite featuring Maggie Q, who earned her chops in Hong Kong’s action scene, pic opened in ninth place with $29,000 on 15 screens.

Best stayer was Kevin Spacey’s “21” which managed a 4% gross improvement in its second week and the third best screen average, at $12,700.

“Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” local move “Sparrow,” “Sex and The City” and “Superhero Movie” all moved in a tight band with drop-offs between 55% and 63%. “Narnia,” in its fourth week took third place and a gross of $171,000. It will take the plaudits for a cume of $3.15 million that puts it in sight of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”’s $3.43 million total and places the C.S. Lewis adaptation as fourth biggest film of the year so far.

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