Animation in Old Hong Kong

The Reporter details how movie attendance is doing in Britain's former Crown Colony, and it ain't bad:

Boosted by 3-D releases with higher admission prices, Hong Kong boxoffice enjoyed a slight increase of HK$10 million (US$1.29 million) for the first seven months of 2009 compared with last year, but early summer grosses dropped, and this year's biggest earners can’t touch those of 2008 ...

There's been a lot of animated features released in HK, and the fact that most have been in three dimensions hasn't hurt them a bit.

Local cinemas charge 30% to 50% more for 3-D showings ... 20th Century Fox's “Ice Age: Rise of the Dinosaurs," which grossed HK$32.4 million since its July 1 opening, plus Disney’s Chinese New Year release “Bolt” and Dreamworks’ Easter animation “Monster Vs. Aliens," each raking in about HK$15 million. Pixar’s “Up” is also going strong, taking HK$13.8 million in its first week, since July 30 ...

Up has raked in major Hong Kong bucks in just a few days. The flick will probably float up to Ice Age's level before the cash is fully counted, maybe even do a bit better.

And the top two grossers in Hong Kong? Live-action films sprinkled liberally with animated goodness:

The highest-grossing film so far this year, Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," grossed HK$47.9 million since its release on June 24, closely followed by “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, which took in HK$43.7 million in three weeks since July 17, up to August 5.