Oscar-winning director Ang Lee’s (李安) epic film, Life of Pi, is on its way to becoming his highest-grossing film ever, according to the latest box office figures released by the film’s distributor.
As of Sunday, the 3-D Hollywood blockbuster — 70 percent of which was shot in Taiwan — had raked in more than US$235 million at box offices worldwide. The figure was only slightly less than the US$245 million earned by Lee’s previous highest-grossing film, Hulk.
In Taipei, Life of Pi is the only film this year to have been the box office leader for five consecutive weekends. The film grossed NT$26 million (US$893,500) in Taiwan last weekend, outshining all other movies screened.
Overall, Life of Pi had grossed NT$390 million in Taiwan up to Sunday, trailing only The Avengers, which has earned NT$600 million at local box offices and is the top grossing film of the year, according to a report by the Chinese-language China Times released on Tuesday.
Besides commercial success, Life of Pi, which explores faith and spirituality through the adventures of a shipwrecked Indian boy adrift on a lifeboat alone with a Bengal tiger, has also won substantial critical acclaim.
The film, a magical and convincing adaption of the Canadian novelist Yann Martel’s 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, has won nominations for numerous awards, including three categories in the 70th Golden Globe Awards — best motion picture, best director and best score.
Earlier this week, Scott Feinberg, an awards analyst with the Hollywood Reporter, predicted that Life of Pi could get six nominations, including best film and best director, at the Academy Awards, or the Oscars, which is regarded as one of the film industry’s most prestigious award ceremonies.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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