"Confucius" faces uphill battle against "Avatar" in China

The biopic of the life of the ancient Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551 BC-479 BC) starring Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat is facing a fierce competition from global hit "Avatar."

"Confucius" opened with record 2,500 copies, but only grossed 38 million yuan (5.6 million U.S. dollars) in the first three days after its debut on Jan 22.

The 150-million-yuan production focuses on the great philosopher's life experiences from 51 to 73, with an episode depicting a "romance" of the philosopher with Nanzi, legendary queen of the ancient state of Wei, who is played by famed star Zhou Xun, a winner of Golden Horses Awards.

The film is the only domestic blockbuster recently to challenge the Hollywood science-fiction epic "Avatar" which almost broke all the records at the Chinese box office since its premiere here on Jan.4. It became the most successful film in the country by raking in 540 million yuan after 15 days of running.

And the 3D epic is still ruling the country at the box office, outperforming "Confucius." The Beijing Dadi Century, producer of the biopic, had not released new box office about the film but the cinema managers were keen on the "fight".

"We had to give "Avatar" five theaters to meet the demand at peak hours" said Li Xianping, general manager of Beijing Ziguang Cinema which owned 10 screens, "But for 'Confucius,' two theaters have been enough so far."

Chow told media that he expected "Confucius" to be a challenger of "Avatar" at a news conference in Beijing on Jan. 14, because the two film belonged to different categories. He believed people would made both choices in cinema.

But the real choice that moviegoers are making is biased toward the Hollywood fantasy.

Tickets for IMAX version of "Avatar" before Feb. 15 have all been sold out in Huaxing International Cinema, one of Beijing's three cinemas equipped with IMAX s