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Thursday,
December 21, 2000
'Crouching Tiger' Burning Bright at the Box Office Movies: Dazzling
martial arts and a poignant love story make it a break-out foreign
language film.
By LORENZA MUŅOZ, Times Staff Writer
L.A. Times Review of 'Crouching
Tiger'
It's being labeled the "Titanic" of the independent film world,
and potentially the highest-grossing foreign language film ever.
The Chinese language "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is drawing
record crowds in Los Angeles and New York and quickly becoming
an art house phenomenon.
Long movie lines--the kind rarely seen these days in the age
of the multiplex--have been forming outside the 31 theaters
showing "Crouching Tiger," a unique mix of martial arts and
romance. In Los Angeles and Orange County, evening shows have
been packed, prompting some ticket scalping outside of sold-out
venues.
Theater owners were caught off-guard by "Crouching Tiger's"
popularity. Bob Laemmle, owner of the Laemmle theater chain
in Los Angeles, said he has never seen anything like it in his
30 years of showing independent films.
"Every theater is setting records," he said. The 500-seat Regent
Showcase in Hollywood grossed more than $61,000 in its opening
weekend, Laemmle said. By contrast, the No. 1 film in the United
States--"What Women Want"--took in about $11,000 per screen.
What is unique about "Crouching Tiger" is that it is appealing
to so many different groups of people, ranging from teenagers
who have never seen a foreign language film to hip-hop fans
to Hong Kong-style martial arts movie buffs.
The film is being fueled by strong word of mouth, critics' awards,
speculation that it might get some Golden Globe nominations
when those are announced today--and talk of an Oscar best picture
nomination. Audiences are discovering a combination of spectacular
martial arts fighting, romance and even a feminist sensibility.
On Friday Sony Pictures Classics will widen the film's release,
opening it on an additional 168 screens nationwide; it's also
getting a wide-screen release in some local IMAX theaters. By
Jan. 12, the film will be playing at 500 theaters nationwide.
The film world buzz began when "Crouching Tiger" became a sensation
in festivals such as Cannes and Toronto for nearly a year. But
few expected the film to strike a chord with mainstream audiences
so quickly.
Certainly the film's fantasy martial arts sequences--including
flying sword battles on roofs and treetops--has appeal for the
young filmgoers who flocked to "The Matrix." That film's gravity-defying
martial arts and fantasy style appealed to an audience raised
on the Internet, video games and comic books. (The same fight
choreographer, Yuen Wo Ping, worked on both films.) "Crouching
Tiger" and its poignant love story are also attracting older
female audiences. Or maybe this year's lackluster Hollywood
movies have audiences starving for something different.
"It's on a trajectory unlike that of most foreign language movies,"
said Paul Degarabedian of Exhibitor Relations, a box office
tracking service. "It's so visual and visceral that it really
doesn't matter that it's subtitled and in another language."
Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, co-presidents of Sony Pictures
Classics, say "Crouching Tiger's" early success demonstrates
that American audiences are willing to embrace at least some
foreign language films. "Years ago, [the Spanish-language] "All
About My Mother" would have never made the $9 million it made
last year," Barker said. "Every year there are two or three
of these foreign pictures that cross over and connect with a
major audience."
The question remains whether "Crouching Tiger" can bring in
mass audiences the way "Life Is Beautiful," did. The 1998 Italian
film grossed $57.6 million in the United States, making it the
most popular foreign language film ever. Analysts say "Crouching
Tiger," which cost about $15 million to make, has a chance to
break that record.
"Crouching Tiger" is rated PG-13, with less violence than R-rated
action films such as "The Matrix." It is directed by Ang Lee,
best known to American audiences for "Sense and Sensibility,"
and stars Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi.
If nothing else, the film's early popularity represents a success
for Sony Pictures Classics--the independent arm of Sony Studios--which
planned its strategy for turning "Crouching Tiger" into a mainstream
hit. For example, the studio invited hip-hop artists such as
Wu Tang Clan and RZA to early screenings in New York, hoping
to capitalize on the close relationship between hip-hop and
martial arts--especially on the heels of last year's box office
hit "Romeo Must Die," which intertwined hip-hop with martial
arts.
"The hip-hop community responded to it in a very positive way,"
said Bernard. "We knew if we got them in, it would filter into
the media."
The Asian community got involved as well. "Crouching Tiger"
was released in China in the summer--although it is officially
a Taiwanese film. Soon enough, Chinese families were sending
bootleg copies of the film to their American relatives as well
as sending unsolicited faxes to the studio with marketing advice
for the Asian community, Bernard said.
The studio also started an early Internet campaign, with 600
trailers sent to various Web sites. An exclusive teenage Web
site for the film called www.cablejump.com,
set up by 13-year-old John Otrakji, posted some comments from
several people who had seen the film.
One site user named Lisa wrote: "Your site is awesum (sic) and
so was the part [in the movie] about the woman beating all the
guys up in the Chinese restaurant."
At art house theaters where "Crouching Tiger" is playing, audiences
have been amazed by the crowds.
"The last time I was there it was myself and the three other
people," said David Davis, referring to his neighborhood theater,
the Laemmle Colorado in Pasadena. "So we got there a little
before the normal 15 minutes before the show this weekend and
it was sold out. They were already selling tickets for the next
show."
Davis and his friends were debating what to do when the man
in front of them said he had bought eight tickets and sold them
at twice the cost to desperate movie-goers.
"He had been there the day before and so he saw a great opportunity
shall we say," Davis said. "He was selling those tickets at
$15 each. He was on top of the world."
"Crouching Tiger" is attracting a cross-section of filmgoers
in Southern California, from Chinese families in Pasadena to
teenagers in Orange to the traditional art house crowd in Santa
Monica.
"My roommate has never seen a foreign film before," said Zach
Rosenblatt, 24, who went to see the film Tuesday night in Pasadena.
"But he saw the previews for this movie and the sword fighting
and thought it looked cool like 'Gladiator.' He saw it and he
loved it."
At the Orange AMC Block 30 movie theaters in Orange County,
the film sold out over the weekend and even on Monday night,
said Greg Haller, managing director of the theater. The film
grossed nearly $48,000 in its first weekend on one screen. Haller
said the Block 30 rarely picks up foreign language films but
he decided that "Crouching Tiger" would be a hit with children
and their parents.
"It is a big surprise that a Chinese film with subtitles is
doing so well," Haller said. "But see, this is not an art film.
It has action and added to the martial arts there is a serious
love story, which is attracting people. . . . I've never seen
a foreign film play like this in this theater."
Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times
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