BEIJING, Dec. 24 -- From "Perhaps Love", "The Warlords", to "Bodyguards and Assassins", Peter Chan has become the only Hong Kong director to compete with mainland heavyweights like Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Yimou.

    Since last Thursday night's premiere, "Bodyguards and the Assassins" has taken 70,000 yuan from its nationwide screenings. At a cinema in Beijing, all showings from noon to nine at night are sold out.

    Audience feedback has been quite good. While some are impressed by the actors' performances, some think the mainstream theme has some entertaining elements, making it more intriguing.

    According to an internet poll, 63 percent of cinema goers give the film a score above 90, while four out of five think both the drama and the martial arts scene are excellent.

    It seems that the story about bodyguards who protect Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of the Chinese democratic revolution from assassins will pave the way for box office success in the days to come.