Wuershan's "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" broke box office records in China this weekend where it had the biggest opening yet for a local film.

The 130-minute action-fantasy-romance, screening exclusively in 3D, grossed 298 million yuan (US$47.3 million) on 6.65 million admissions over four days at an average ticket price of  45 yuan (US$7.13). Tickets in Beijing retailed for as much as 120 yuan (US$19.02), in line with prices for Hollywood 3D films in China.

It is historically the third highest opening in China, following this year's 3D revival of "Titanic" (1997) and last year's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". Titanic took 468 million yuan (US$74.2 million) in its first six days; Transformers, also shown in 3D, took 401 million yuan (US$63.6 million) in its first four days in cinemas.

By comparison, "Avatar" (2009) took 287 million yuan (US$45.5 million at current exchange rates) in its first week on release. Strong demand and a shortage of 3D screens at the time contributed to the science-fiction film's record 10-week run at the top of the box office, a feat that Resurrection will likely not match.

However, Resurrection will likely dominate local cinemas in the coming weeks and exceed US$100 million. New films opening this month include Patrick Leung's "Wu Dang", Chen Kaige's "Caught in the Web", and "The Four", co-directed by Gordon Chan.

Although Hollywood films -- including "The Hunger Games", "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted", "Men In Black 3" and "The Avengers" -- are still playing in Chinese cinemas, there are no US films scheduled to open in China until June 25. That date marks the belated release of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1".

It has been 24 weeks -- almost six months -- since another Chinese film topped the local box office charts, Derek Yee's "The Great Magician" in mid-January. The dominance of Hollywood films -- in particular 3D films -- has been a major concern for the local industry this year.

Resurrection is co-produced and distributed by Huayi Brothers Media Corporation. After a lukewarm 2011, during which it focused on production, it has a strong lineup of titles in post-production including Feng Xiaogang's war drama "1942".

Huayi's previous box office successes include "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" (2010) (109 million yuan in five days), "Aftershock" (2010) (180 million yuan in four days) and If You are the "One II" (2010) (210 million yuan in five days).

In 2008, Gordon Chan's "Painted Skin" (2008) made approximately 232 million yuan on its theatrical run in China. Resurrection reunites most of the original cast but is officially not a sequel. The decision to convert the new film to 3D was first announced during the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)