Golden week reaps $42m in film box office

BEIJING - China's week-long National Day holiday took in 280 million yuan ($42 million) in film box office receipts, up 12 percent over last year, said sources in the cinema industry.

Half of all ticket sales were for "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," a film that debuted on September 29, starring renowned Hong Kong actor Andy Lau and actress Carina Lau, along with mainland actress Li Bingbing.

The Leonardo DiCaprio film "Inception" continues its climb and took in 50 million between October 1 and 7, making it the fourth foreign film ever to take in more than 400 million yuan in the Chinese mainland's box office. The other three were "Avatar," "2012" and "Transformers."

Liu Hui, deputy general manager of Beijing-based UME Huaxing Cinema, is very pleased that "theatres are always packed with audiences during the golden week."