Third title in trilogy opens big

Sun Dec 21, 7:00 PM ET

CARLYE ADLER

(Variety) HONG KONG The third installment of police drama trilogy "Infernal Affairs" had a stellar
opening weekend, as expected.

In Hong Kong, "Infernal Affairs III" captured a "lucky" 88.8% of the B.O. its opening night and
took in HK$11.88 million ($1.5 million U.S.) its first weekend. The film opened on 111 screens in
Hong Kong--- setting the city's record for the largest number of screens ever allocated to one pic.

While the numbers are impressive, Woody Tsung, CEO of the Motion Picture Industry Assn., points
out that "Infernal Affairs III" was the weekend's only new release --- a decision that Tsung calls
"very logical" on the part of the filmmakers. " 'Infernal Affairs' has been one of the most
looked-forward-to films for Hong Kong --- no one would want to open against that," Tsung says.

Industry players agree that despite a strong opening, it's too early to tell how pic will do overall.
The reviews in the local press have been critical, saying the film doesn't live up to its earlier
installments. Additionally, auds were already getting excited for the "The Lord of the Rings: The
Return of the King," which opened in Hong Kong Dec. 18.

The last part of the trilogy didn't beat the opening weekends of its previous installments, although
it's difficult to make a fair comparison: "I" bowed on a Thursday and "II" debuted on the
Wednesday of a holiday week, allowing for longer-than-usual opening weekends.

"Infernal Affairs" did break records at its openings in the rest of the region. In Malaysia, Singapore,
and Taiwan, "Infernal Affairs III" beat opening numbers for "I" and "II." In China, it was the biggest
opening of the year so far.

"Infernal Affairs I" was the star at the 40th annual Golden Horse Awards, the premier competition
for Chinese-lingo movies, which took place in Taiwan in mid-December. Pic was nominated for 12
categories, and won six honors, including best film, director, actor, supporting actor, sound effects
and the audience award.

Next up, "Infernal Affairs" has its eyes set on the Oscars (news - web sites). The Federation of
Motion Film Producers of Hong Kong has asked the Academy Awards (news - web sites) to include
the pic in the foreign-language category. Miramax has signed on to distribute the film, and Warner
Bros. has already bought the remake rights.

Helmers Alan Mak and Andrew Lau are already focusing on their next project, likely an action
movie, or a comedy. "We want to create a different look to cause surprise," Lau says. They won't
leave everything from "Infernal Affairs" behind though. Unlike the superstition that states otherwise,
Mak and Lau believe good things come in threes. "I really want to do another trilogy," says Mak.

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