"The Promise" the Oscar candidate by Chinese renowned director Chen Kaige, obliterated the old opening weekend box office record in the mainland by squeezing 74.52 million yuan (about 9 million US dollars) out of the Chinese public from Dec. 15th to the 18th, defeating Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle," which had made 63 million yuan." 

According Yi Jianmei, who is in charge of the film's promotion in China, "The Promise" has also broken other mainland box-office records. It beat Zhang Yimou's "Hero" (2.1 million yuan) in a test run in selected cities by winning 8 million yuan on Dec 14, Hollywood blockbuster " Titanic" (18 million yuan) in its opening day with 21.15 million revenue on Dec. 15, and "Kung Fu Hustle" (22 million yuan) in a single day with 25 million box office on Dec 17. Chen is "calm and happy" on learning about the favorable results, Yi said.

Many cinema managers across China forecast earlier that the total box office revenue of the film will reach 200 million yuan (25 million US dollars ) in China. Chen made "The Promise" in 1,090 days, trekking for nearly 10,120 kilometers, at a cost of 340 million yuan (about 42 million US dollars), so far the most expensive film in China. The film has secured the only qualification from the Chinese government for vying for 78th Oscar nomination representing the Chinese mainland.

Editor: Donald