Box Office Shakedown

USA -- The big winner was KUNG FU HUSTLE, opening on about 7 screens with a per screen average of about $40,000. OLDBOY expanded to five more screens (making it a total of 13) and made about $44,946, with a per screen average of $3,400 (approx). What's nice for Tartan is that OLDBOY actually gained about 33% at the box office in this, its third week, after falling off by about 50% in its second week. OLDBOY has now made about $194,000 total.

KOREA -- CRYING FIST continues to top the box office, with Kim Ji-Won's A BITTERSWEET LIFE coming into second place. Old lady comedy, MAPADO, comes in third, and LONG AND WINDING ROAD about middle-aged Korean mothers came in fourth.

HONG KONG -- two Japanese flicks, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and drama BE WITH YOU, topped the HK box office (even as anti-Japanese protests degenerated into riots in Beijing. MS. CONGENIALITY came in third (where's riots when you need them?) and Wong Jing's triad knock-off flick, COLOR OF LOYALTY, came in fourth.

JAPAN -- it's painful to read the Japanese box office report. Spots 1 - 3 were held by - gulp - NATIONAL TREASURE, THE AVIATOR and SHARK TALE. LORELEI, the Japanese submarine flick, held fourth place and in a refreshing change it's made about US$18 million in its five weeks of release, US$4 million more than SHARK TALE which is also in week five. Fifth place was held by the anime feature, ONE PIECE, which has been out for five weeks as well and has made about US$9 million. Of course, everyone is trounced by master animator, Hayao Miyazaki's, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE which has made a whopping US$175 million in 20 weeks.