Apple has bite of China box office

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Box Office News

You Are the Apple of My Eye 那些年，我們一起追的女孩。 (2011) has had the most successful opening yet for a Taiwan-produced film in China, taking RMB27.5 million ($4.35 million) over the three day weekend.

The high-school romance was runner up to ZHANG Yimou 張藝謀's The Flowers of War 金陵十三釵 (2011) and TSUI Hark 徐克's Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 龍門飛甲 (2011) that are both on their fourth week on Mainland screens.

Flowers and Swords added RMB71.6 million ($11.3 million) and RMB68.5 million ($10.9 million) respectively last week; their current takings by Sunday night are RMB560 million ($88.7 million) and RMB502 milllion ($79.6 million).

On Tuesday, Taiwan newspapers reported that Apple outperformed both films over the three-day weekend, but that is unlikely given the significant difference in box office income between second and third place over the seven-day period.

Apple is the fourth Taiwanese film released in China since the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed in 2010 giving greater access to Mainland screens to Taiwan-produced films without co-production status.

Taiwan still maintains a strict limit on the number of Mainland films that can be screened. Last week, the Government Information Office (GIO) 新聞局 told a local newspaper that its ten film quota was still necessary to protect Taiwan cinema.

The version of Apple screening in China is heavily edited with approximately three minutes removed, including the film's most bawdy material.

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