BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The latest blockbuster from Chinese director Zhang Yimou, "The Curse of the Golden Flower", brought in 15 million yuan (1.9 million U.S. dollars) in the first five hours of it release.

The 45-million-dollar movie was released across China on Thursday.

"It's reasonable to assume box office receipts will top 100 million in first week, and reach 300 million shortly after the New Year," said Gao Jun, an executive from the Beijing based New Film Association, which operates a chain of cinemas in China.

"We are optimistic that the film will establish a new box office record in China," said Gao.

The current box office record holder in China is "Titanic" which brought in 350 million yuan (44 million U.S. dollars) in 1997.

"Curse", which stars Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Chow Yun Fat and Taiwan pop star Jay Chow, tells the story of an imperial family's slow decline and features vast battle scenes between the sons of the reigning emperor and empress.