"Life of Pi" had grossed NT$390 million in Taiwan as of Dec. 23.
Los Angeles/Taipei (ANTARA/CNA) - Shipwreck epic "Life of Pi" is on its way to become Oscar-winning director Ang Lee`s highest-grossing film ever, according to the latest box office figures released by the film`s distributor.

As of Dec. 23, 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 be the box office leader for five consecutive weekends. The film grossed NT$26 million (US$893,470) around Taiwan last weekend, outshining all other movies screened.

Overall, "Life of Pi" had grossed NT$390 million in Taiwan as of Dec. 23, trailing only the top-grossing film of the year "The Avengers," which has earned NT$600 million at the local box office, according to a Dec. 25 report by the Taipei-based China Times.

Besides commercial success, "Life of Pi,` which explores faith through tales of a shipwrecked Indian boy adrift on a lifeboat alone with a Bengal tiger, has also won critical acclaim.

To date, two U.S. film critic groups -- the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society -- have honored Lee as director of the year in recognition of the Taiwan-born, U.S.-based filmmaker`s work in "Life of Pi."

The film, a magical realism adaption of the Canadian novelist Yann Martel`s 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, has also won nominations for many other awards, including three nods for 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, a publication focusing on the Hollywood movie industry, predicted that "Life of Pi" could get six nominations, including best film and best director, at the Academy Awards, the industry`s most prestigious awards.
(T.A045/H-AK)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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