ELECTION 2 OPENING WEEKEND

A sharp-eyed reader in Hong Kong let us know that ELECTION 2 rocketed to a HK$5.6 million opening last weekend, and seems set to sail past the HK$10 million mark at the local box office, something that was unheard of for a Category III movie in recent years before ELECTION and SHA PO LANG did just that thing.

But there are a few rain clouds on the edge of this picture. ELECTION 1 grossed HK$5.7 million on its opening weekend last year, and while ELECTION 2 has gotten generally good reviews in HK, there are some bones of contention among the rank and file, ranging from disappointment with the focus on Louis Koo at the expense of the other characters, to criticism that the ending is simplistic. And, of course, the expected "it's too violent".

But with their combined budget at HK$50 million, any way you slice it there's almost no way for ELECTION 1 and 2 not to be profitable. Foreign sales were brisk for ELECTION 1 although they seem to have stalled at this point with no new territory sales in a while for the combined ELECTION 1 and 2 package. But there's still DVD to come, a UK release in June, and a potential North American sale somewhere off in the mists of the future.

On a side note: the Hollywood Reporter just weighed in with a very positive review. In the first paragraph they ask, "It's hard to say why To hasn't transcended cult/art house status outside of Asia and specialty festivals..." but they might want to consider the possibility that their extremely negative review for ELECTION bears some responsibility. After all, who would want to acquire or release a film that's been called, "A repellent movie filled with gratuitous violence, ELECTION is bound to find an appreciative audience among those who like their cinematic criminals noisy, stupid and deadly."

(And that's the French poster for ELECTION 2 in all its tiny postage stamp glory.)