Luc Besson's record-breaking French film Taxi 2 is enjoying considerable success from its release in Taiwan. Directed by Gerard Krawczyk and distributed in Taiwan by Spring Cinema, the French-language film saw off new entries The Patriot and Titan AE to take the top spot in the chart after its July 21 release. After 17 days it has scooped $1.5m, but dropped to number two after Gone In Sixty Seconds' four-day opening of $1m.

The original Taxi was distributed in Taiwan in June 1998, and grossed $1.06m, almost double the $570,000 box office for Besson's Leon (aka The Professional) in 1995, but significantly less than the $3.76m The Fifth Element grossed in 1997.

Taxi 2 is slated for a significant release in Japan through Nippon Herald and in Hong Kong, where the original Taxi took $190,000 (HK$1.4m) from five screens, becoming the fourth-highest grossing French film of the decade.