Actress Vivian Wu worked as a ticket seller at a Beijing cinema on Saturday to promote her new film Shanghai Red in the face of fierce competition from Spider-Man 3.

Vivian Wu told Beijing Daily Messenger she was dissatisfied with the cinemas because Shanghai Red is only being shown at off-peak times.

"The cinema officials said that they showed Shanghai Red at 10:00 AM because few people bought tickets to see it. I would like to see for myself whether the audiences don't want to see it or whether the cinemas aren't giving them the chance."

She also expressed her concern for Chinese productions.

"We were happy when we learned our film would be shown during the one week May Day holiday. But later we found the cinemas didn't give us many opportunities to show it. If this goes on, who will invest in Chinese productions in the future?"

The box office went crazy when "Spider-Man 3" opened in Beijing on May 2. Crowds of people overwhelmed almost all of Beijing's cinemas, leaving few theatres available for Chinese productions like Shanghai Red, Ming Ming, and Kung Fu Fighter.

Spider-Man 3 made more than 70 million yuan (nearly US$9 million) at the box office over six days during the May Day holiday.

In contrast, Shanghai Red has only made a few million since it started screening on April 27.

"This is a kind of cinema monopoly," Vivian Wu said.

An anonymous cinema official has responded to the actress' accusations by arguing that the audience has the final say in the market. He said cinemas have the right to schedule extra screenings of Spider-Man 3 if the demand is high.

"Cinemas pursue the highest profit," he said. "Nothing can change this, unless the government intervenes."

Some Chinese directors have supported Vivian Wu's statement.

"There are national regulations that restrict TV stations to only airing domestic dramas during peak viewing hours. Can domestic films receive similar government support?" some of them asked.

(CRI.cn May 14, 2007)