Chinese Audiences Give Disney's The Magic Gourd the Thumbs Up At Chinese Box Office

Chinese Audiences Give Disney's The Magic Gourd the Thumbs Up At Chinese Box Office

SHANGHAI, China, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Magic Gourd, The Walt Disney Company's first locally produced full length motion picture in China has recorded a stellar performance at the Chinese box office taking in excess of US $2million [RMB16M] as it enters its third week, making it the second highest grossing Chinese language picture for the year thus far.

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Mark Zoradi, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, said, "The overwhelmingly positive response to our first locally produced Disney branded picture in China reinforces the importance of the ongoing development of culturally relevant and appealing stories we can turn into Chinese language movies going forward."

"We are thrilled with the performance of The Magic Gourd at the Chinese box office," added Mr. Stanley Cheung, executive vice president and Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company, Greater China. "By tapping into the local expertise of Centro Digital and China Film Group, Disney has brought to life a film that is clearly a hit with kids and families in China."

Disney's "The Magic Gourd," is a contemporary adaptation of a classic Chinese novel written in 1958 by one of the most celebrated authors of children's literature in China - Mr. Zhang Tian Yi. The Chinese language film shot in live action features extensive special effects from Centro Digital (Hong Kong) as it tells the story of a boy who encounters the title character and embarks on a journey of self discovery.

"The film premiere coincided with the start of school holidays and has been playing great since it opened nationwide on June 29th," said Jo Yan, senior vice president, Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Asia Pacific. "We are absolutely thrilled with the way Chinese kids, parents and moviegoers of all ages have embraced this movie."

"The 2nd weekend drop was only 16%, more importantly on its second Tuesday, the half price ticket day all across Chinese cinemas, our drop was less than 1% from its first Tuesday. All these suggest a good buzz on the street about the movie and the first week audiences recommending more people to go out and see it," added Mr. Yan.

"We are looking forward to the rollout of the film to its second market, Hong Kong, in August," said Mr. Yan. "One Life One Dream," the movie's theme song sung by hot local artist Baby Zhang is also performing well in the music charts.

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Photo: NewsCom:

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Source: Walt Disney Studios

CONTACT: Asia Pacific, Alannah Goss, +852 2203 2198, or United States,
Heidi Trotta, +1-818-560-7280, both of Walt Disney Studios

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