Chinese martial arts film Hero, starring Jet Li, sliced up the competition at the North American box office, raking in US$18 million in its debut weekend according to final studio figures Monday. That was some US$200,000 more than the studio estimates released on Sunday.

Miramax released the film, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002, two years later than expected.

Produced by the renowned Zhang Yimou, the film tells the tale of an assassination plot against the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC).

The star-studded cast includes Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Tony Leung Chui-Wai in addition to the US$10-million-per-movie Jet Li.

Beauty has always been a hallmark of Zhang Yimou's work, and it is visible in abundance through the images captured by Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking Australian cinematographer Chris Doyle.

The film is not lacking for stars behind the scenes, either, with Oscar winner Tan Dun having composed the score and Emi Wada designing the costumes.

Another new release, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, snaked into second place at the weekend with a take of US$12.9 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

(People's Daily, China.org.cn August 31, 2004)