Moviegoers queue at the box office of a Beijing cinema for "The Warlords" opening on Wednesday, December 12, 2007.

Hong Kong director Peter Chan's "The Warlords" took in more than 10 million yuan (1.3 million US dollars), at the box office in the first few hours following its release.

The war epic premiered in several Chinese cities at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Yu Dong, president of Poly-Bona, one of the movie's producers, told a reporter with Chinese Web portal Sina.com that he believed box office income could double on Thursday, when the movie opens nationwide.

"The Warlords" could potentially break the box office records set by Zhang Yimou's "Curse of Golden Flower," Yu Dong said.

The movie, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu Jinglei, tells the tale of three blood brothers and their struggles against a backdrop of war and political upheaval. It is scheduled for North American release next March.

(CRI December 14, 2007)