Chinese director Feng Xiaogang's first martial arts feature, The Banquet, grossed 55 million yuan at China's box office in its first week.

 

 

The film banked a cool 12 million yuan at its premiere on September 14, where it received both praise and criticism.

 

The Banquet has set a new box office record for director Feng Xiaogang. His previous highest grossing film was A World without Thief last December.

 

Wu Helu, Manager of Shanghai Cinema Union, said The Banquet is not just Feng Xiaogang's best film, but also the best domestic film of the year.

 

(xtrachina.cn September 19, 2006)