In the sci-fi blockbuster "The Matrix Reloaded," the hero battles a swarm of enemies who keep multiplying until they overwhelm him and force him to flee.

Movie studios have waged a similar fight in China against a seemingly endless horde of pirates who hawk rip-off DVDs of the latest silver screen hits for less than US$1.

Now, Warner Bros, the Time Warner studio behind "The Matrix" series, hopes to turn the tables by showing the trilogy's final film in China on the same day as in other countries, betting that people would rather spend their money on legitimate movie tickets than on fake DVDs, officials said yesterday.

The November 6 debut of "The Matrix Revolutions" in Beijing - timed to coincide with its US release on November 5 - will be the first time Chinese moviegoers won't have to wait weeks or months for the latest box office smash to light up local screens.

"We are speeding up the importing of films with the aim of curbing pirated copies," said Zhou Tiedong, an official with China Film Group Corp, the government body that approves foreign films.

"The pirated copies usually appear in China three days after the first showing in the United States. We will leave zero space for pirated copies if films can be shown at the same time as the international market," Zhou said.

A Warner executive in Beijing confirmed the plans but gave no further details.

The "Matrix" movies, starring Keanu Reeves as a hacker who learns that sentient machines have enslaved humanity in a vast computer simulation, have won legions of fans in China thanks to their formula of Hong Kong-style kung fu, mind-bending special effects and philosophical ruminations.

But the "Revolutions" debut will be but one step in tapping the great potential of the entertainment market in China.

Far from being driven underground like the humans fighting the machines in "The Matrix," pirates operate openly in brightly lit stores stocked with a wide range of shrink-wrapped fakes.

"The Matrix Reloaded," which still packed Beijing's handful of high-end theaters weeks after its local release, hauled in about 41 million yuan (US$5 million), Zhou said. That compares to a global box office take of more than US$735 million, and US$281 million in the United States alone.

Zhou said "Revolutions" was poised to top that. A recent film by martial arts star Jackie Chan had earned 25 million yuan after debuting at the same time as other Asian markets, 15 million yuan more than Chan's previous film, he said.

"Why? People could not find pirated copies before it was publicly shown in theaters." Zhou said. "Films should be watched in theaters. We will help Chinese audiences get used to enjoying films in theaters."

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