The 3D re-release of James Cameron's "Titanic" raked in an estimated $11.6 million from 2,400 3D screens and 66 IMAX 3D screens in China on Tuesday, 20th Century Fox International reported, whereas China Film News gave an estimate of 66 million yuan (US$10.46 million).

It's a huge box office result for China, but due to the film's 3-hour length, it failed to break the opening day record set by "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," yet comes in a very decent second place. That also made it Fox's best opening day ever in China.

But the Chinese moviegoers appeared even more passionate about the re-newed release than any of their counterparts. "Titanic 3D" opened in the United States on April 4, grossing US$4.7 million that day, half of what it made in China.

Industry insiders predict the nationwide nostalgic vibe will prompt the film's total gross to at least 400 million yuan (US$63 million) and 800 million (US$126 million) at best -- which will make China the biggest overseas market for the film.

"Titanic 3D's"' box office prospects has been the most popular topic of dicussion among theater managers in China over the past weeks.

The blockbuster resurfaced in Chinese theaters on Tuesday in 3D and 3D IMAX, 100 years after the historic ship's maiden voyage and 14 years after the 2D version's premiere in China.

It had been the highest-grossing film in the country, raking in 360 million yuan (US$55 million) in 1998, until "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" broke the record in 2009 by taking in 450 million yuan (US$71.32 million).

The film opened in most theaters nationwide as early as midnight on Tuesday.

Chen Hongwei, marketing manager of Wanda Cinemas, told China Daily that the film was screened at midnight on Tuesday in each of Wanda's 80 theaters, garnering 2.4 million yuan. It was the second-highest-grossing midnight screening the company had seen. The highest was that of "Transformers 3" last year, which made 3 million yuan.

Chen was clearly optimistic about how the film would do at the box office. "I believe in the chemistry between a classic and a new technology," he said. "It provides something for those who are ready for memory-collecting and those who want fresh visual impact."

Wu Hehu, deputy general manager of Shanghai United Cinema Lines, was more conservative. "Things are different than they were 14 years ago," he said. "Moviegoers did not have as many choices as they do today."

He points out that another big ship movie is coming to compete at the box office: The sci-fi blockbuster, "Battleship," starring Liam Neeson, which will premiere in China on April 18. Beginning on May 4, "The Avengers," featuring a stellar cast of Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, will give filmgoers an even greater choice.

Wu anticipates that Titanic 3D may gross 300 to 400 million yuan, but young theater manager Chen Zheng thinks this figure is underestimated. Chen told China Daily that the midnight screening in South China Cinema Circuit, where he works, earned about 800,000 yuan, which, he said, was a very good revenue for a Tuesday.

Since opening on last Wednesday worldwide, "Titanic 3D" has already made at least US$53 million overseas, and that doesn't even count any of its other markets on Tuesday. That brings the re-release's worldwide gross to over US$80 million, and it brings the film's total gross across all releases to US$1.924 billion, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

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