Jackie Chan, Jet Li, film shot in mainland China, with mostly Chinese cast and crew, kicks over weekend

By Robin Rowe

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/20/08 — ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ pulled some serious punches this weekend, becoming the biggest Chinese film opening in American box office history.

It was the first ever pairing of Chinese martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but it had more kick historically than just two great action actors. Especially right now when China is proudly hosting the Olympics, yet embroiled in controversy

It even edged out star director Judd Apatow’s super-promoted ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall.’

In China film history, only Jet Li’s ‘Hero’ in 2002 opened nearly as well in America, at $18 million in 2,000 theaters for an eventual domestic total of $54 million. In 2000, ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ opened modestly in just 16 U.S. theaters, eventually building to a stunning $128 million U.S. box office. Chan’s “Rush Hour” series were also box office heroes, but are considered US studio films, not Chinese.

Interestingly, Jet Li said just three years ago, he was quitting martial arts films. Yet like NBA hoops legend Michael Jordan, he just couldn’t keep off the court and stay retired for very long.

Yet the bigger story is that China has figured out how to make a worldwide movie opener, a tricky business. American companies Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company handled the releasing, but the film still needed to have had a solid, wide appeal.

“We were in the heart of China when we made the movie,” Kingdom director Rob Minkoff told Hollywood Today. “We worked with a primarily Chinese crew. I’d say 90% of everyone we worked with on the movie were either from mainland China or Hong Kong. Hengdian is the studio that we were primarily based at, which is a studio that’s been there ten years and has really spectacular sets. It’s about a five-hour drive from Shanghai. It’s pretty remote.”

“Since we were coming all this way to make a movie about China, we wanted to make sure that we really saw China and showed China to our audience,” says Kingdom executive producer Casey Silver. “We had the approval and support of the Chinese government.” ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ was shot at the sound stages of Hengdian World Studios, the Gobi desert in Dunhuang, the Nine Bends River, the waterfall at Xianju, the Wuyi Mountains, and at Anji and Fangyan.

“I really thank the director and Disney and DreamWorks for making Chinese culture movies like ‘Mulan’ and “Forbidden Kingdom’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda’,” says Jackie Chan. Chan says he wants Hollywood to make more movies in China to promote tourism. “I’m the ambassador to the Olympics,” says Chan. “I always come over at Olympics. I just want to tell, the Olympics cannot mix with politics. They just want to show off on TV. Some naughty boy, they do it for no reason. They know, ‘If I can get the torch then I can go on TV for the world news’. That’s the wrong thing. Olympics for me is love, peace, united.”

Expect ‘Kingdom’ to increase it’s lead as its PG-13 rating draws a family audience that’s pushed away by Sarah Marshall’s R rating. .

China’s Olympic controversies range from torches to Tibet and Darfur –protests which have Hollywood actors involved, so this Hollywood win is even more significant.

Friday Box Office (source Box Office Mojo)

1. THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM: Lionsgate PG-13 $2,396 * 3,151 = $7.5M

2. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL: Universal R $2,116 * 2,798 = $5.9M

3. PROM NIGHT: Screen Gems PG-13 $1,278 * 2,700 = $3.5M cume $26.9M

4. 88 MINUTES: Columbia R $1,072 * 2,168 = $2.3M

5. 21: Columbia PG-13 $620 * 2,903 = $1.8M cume $66.3M

6. NIM’S ISLAND: Fox PG $458 * 3,277 = $1.5M cume $28.7M

7. STREET KINGS: Fox Searchlight R $527 * 2,469 = $1.3M $17.2M

8. EXPELLED: Rocky Mountain Pictures PG $1,141 * 1,052 = $1.2M

9. HORTON HEARS A WHO: Fox G $346* 2,670 = $0.9M cume $142M

10: LEATHERHEADS: Universal PG-13 $331 * 2,798 = $0.9M cume $24.5M

Apr. 18-20 Weekend Estimates as of Sat. p.m.

1. Forbidden Kingdom $21M

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall $16.5M

3. Prom Night $10.5M

4. 88 Minutes $6.5M

5. 21 $6.0M

Robin Rowe is a co-founder of ScreenPlayLab (www.screenplaylab.com).

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