Rush Hour 3 Tops The US Box Office

Opened on August 10, the picture raked in US$50.2 mn over three days. It knocked out the previous week's number one "Bourne Ultimatum" to the second place while the "Simpsons Movie" which was in its third weekend ranked third.

The latest installment of the successful franchise reunites director Brett Ratner for the third time with Chan and Chris Tucker who as the funny crime-fighting duo deliver East-meets-West fusion action and jokes.

The slapstick comedy marks the Hollywood debut of mainland Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu who plays the daughter of a Chinese ambassador. Another new Asian face in the franchise is Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada as a hitman.

Although the picture is now being rolled out in multiple territories worldwide from Singapore to Switzerland, the mainland Chinese audience will not get to see it in theatres. Local censors have ruled out the possibility of a theatrical release, saying that it is "commercially unviable".

But given the remarkable performance of the first two "Rush Hour" movies in the mainland ¡V both released by prominent Hong Kong producer Bill Kong's Edko Films, there are speculations that the real reason for blocking the latest film is about its portrayal of a Chinese gangster organization which the local censors deem negative of the Chinese people.

Started in 1998, the "Rush Hour" franchise has been highly lucrative. In the US alone, the first picture grossed US$141.2 mn while the box office for the second picture was even higher with US$226.2 mn.

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