HONG KONG - CHINESE cinema's main Christmas offering, The Warlords, has raked in US$14 million (S$20.4 million) across Asia in its opening weekend, including US$12.2 million in mainland China, where it faced no major Hollywood competition.

The US$40 million production starring Jet Li made US$1.1 million in Hong Kong on Thursday through Sunday; US$685,000 in Singapore; US$300,000 in Malaysia and US$192,300 in Indonesia, according to figures issued on Tuesday by Hong Kong film company Media Asia, one of the investors in the film.

Making US$12.2 million in China in four days is a stellar result. A film that grosses US$20 million in total is considered a big hit.

Spider-Man 3 made US$11.5 million, also in a week in China, according to Sony Pictures.

The Warlords, also starring Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro, opened amid reports that China has decided to ban foreign movies for three months.

China often blocks foreign films to protect local productions.

Chinese film officials have denied the ban, saying they are still reviewing Hollywood movies for import, but acknowledged that China won't be showing any more major Hollywood movies this year - which cleared the way for The Warlords to be shown without facing any major American competition.

China only allows about 20 foreign films to be imported each year if movie studios get a cut of the box office revenue, instead of selling distribution rights for a flat fee.

It's unclear how many films it allows in under the flat fee model.

Major Hollywood studios, however, prefer the revenue-sharing model, which would boost their profits if the movie is a big hit.

The Warlords, directed by Hong Kong's Peter Chan, is Chinese cinema's latest historical epic - currently the dominant genre in the market.

It follows the breakdown of the friendship between three mercenaries during civil unrest in 19th century China. -- AP