Hong Kong: 3-D porn film breaks record set by “Avatar”

Makers of a 3-D porn film called "3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy" that has taken the Hong Kong box office by storm — beating the first-day record set by "Avatar" and even drawing mainland Chinese to the territory — are pushing forward with a global rollout.

As of Tuesday, the 3-D Cantonese-language erotic comedy had earned $2.2 million after opening last week on 73 screens, according to figures provided by the film's writer and producer Stephen Shiu obtained by the Associated Press. 

That's nearly seven times the total take so far for Hollywood thriller "Scream 4," which has earned $320,000 so far.

The film reportedly brought in $360,000 on its first day — more than the previous first-day Hong Kong record of $340,000 set by "Avatar."

Takings have been boosted by an influx of viewers traveling from mainland China where it is not being screened, according to the BBC. While Hong Kong has a film ratings system, mainland China doesn't, which effectively rules out erotic content.

In Taiwan, the film earned $590,000 through Sunday — marking the best opening weekend for a Chinese-language movie in Taiwan this year, Shiu said Wednesday.

According to Emily Lodish, writing in GlobalPost's Rice Bowl blog, the film — loosely based on "The Carnal Prayer Mat," a classic Chinese erotic text — follows a sexually frustrated scholar living in Ming Dynasty China as he befriends a duke and makes full use of his harem. The film is a remake of a 1991 Hong Kong movie by the same name.

It stars Japanese porn stars Hara Saori and Suo Yukiko and Hong Kong actress Vonnie Liu, tells the story of a man who loses himself in the harem of a duke he befriends.

"Sex and Zen 3D: Extreme Ecstasy" would "leave audiences feeling like they are sitting right there at the edge of the bed," Shiu told The Guardian.

The film was also released in about a dozen theaters in Chinese communities in Australian and was scheduled for release in South Korea on May 12, and in France, Italy and India in June. Shiu is also targeting a May release for Singapore, pending censor approval.