Alexi Tan's Blood Brothers, produced by Lion Rock Productions and Taiwan 's CMC Entertainment, has raked in around $3m (RMB23m) in mainland China between its opening on August 16 and last Sunday (Aug 26).

The film, distributed in China by Beijing-based Huayi Brothers, grossed $1.6m (RMB$12m) on its opening weekend, ranking second at the box office behind Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix.

The film fared less well in Hong Kong where it opened August 23 and grossed around US$77,000 in its first four days. In Taiwan, it has taken an estimated US$211,000 after 11 days on release.

Starring Liu Ye, Daniel Wu and Chang Chen, Blood Brothers tells the story of three young men who move to Shanghai in the 1930s to make their fortunes and get dragged into the city's criminal underworld. First-time director Tan is a protege of Lion Rock co-founders John Woo and Terence Chang.

In a shot in the arm for Taiwan's struggling film industry, Blood Brothers is the second of three partly Taiwanese productions receiving wide pan-Asian releases this summer. The first - Jay Chou's directorial debut Secret - has grossed around US$4.6m in China, US$1.65m in Hong Kong and US$540,000 in Taiwan.

The third, Ang Lee's highly-anticipated Lust, Caution, will be released in September following its world premiere in Venice competition.

Stephen Cremin in Taipei contributed to this report

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