Article from China’s government newspaper.
Lord of the Rings casts its magic on Chinese box office
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhuanet) — The final episode of the Lord of the Rings is set to be a spellbinding success at the Chinese box office when it finally opens on March 12, thanks to its clean sweep of 11 Oscars at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
“We imported the film before it won 11 Oscars at the 76th Academy Awards, so our expectations of the box office revenue havesoared,” deputy general manager of China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) Weng Li said.
The CFGC estimates The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will reap at least 80 million yuan (9.67 million US dollars) in China, smashing the box office record for a foreign film set bythe second Harry Porter film of 50 million yuan (6.05 million US dollars).
“Some Beijing-based cinema managers agreed that the Rings couldtake 15 million yuan (1.8 million US dollars) at city box offices and could hit 100 million yuan (12 million US dollars) in profits nationwide,” Weng said.
“I can’t wait after knowing the Rings had a clean sweep the Oscars,” said Mrs. Fan, an employee of a Beijing-based media company. “Since the end of last year, I started calling cinemas toconfirm the film’s screening dates.”
