Despite stiff competition from Spider-Man, Han Entertainment's The Touch is continuing to perform strongly in China, where it has grossed $2.7m (RMB22m) after 18 days (August 1-18) from 162 screens.

However, the action adventure, which was released day and date in four Asian territories to outsmart mainland pirates, will need legs over its fourth weekend in order to reach Han's expectations of $3.6m (RMB30m). Spider-Man opened in China on August 7 in around 600 first-run theatres and, according to Columbia TriStar, had grossed $3.6m (RMB30m) as of August 18.

In Hong Kong, The Touch has grossed $1.36m (HK$10.6m) after 18 days (August 1-18), but dropped to third place in it second week behind Mel Gibson-starrer Signs and China Star opener Mighty Baby. In Singapore, the film has racked up $701,000 (S$1.23m) after 18 days, while in Malaysia its tally stands at $496,100 (1.88m ringgits) after 17 days. The film was also released in Taiwan over the weekend and grossed $128,000 (NT$4.34m) in two days from 53 screens.

Mighty Baby, a sequel to last year's hit comedy La Brassiere, racked up $1.65m (HK$12.86m) in ten days (August 9-18) at the Hong Kong box office, putting it on track to become one of the highest grossing domestic titles this year. Directed by Patrick Leung and starring Louis Koo and Cecilia Cheung, the film is a comedy about a group of young designers who are asked to develop a product line for babies.

Meanwhile Applause Pictures' horror omnibus Three came in second at the Hong Kong box office over the four-day weekend (August 15-18), with a healthy $430,000 (HK$3.35m) from 37 screens. The film, which comprises three segments directed by Nonzee Nimibutr, Kim Jee-woon and Peter Chan, is now the third highest grossing Asian movie in Thai box office history, taking 70 million baht since its release on July 7. It will roll-out next in Korea on August 22 and following its success in Thailand has been picked up by Warner Bros for Singapore and UIP for Malaysia.