Chinese fans of Pitt flare up to watch "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" as romance goes

As Hollywood action flick "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" to debut in many cities in China Friday, huge interests attached to the two stars' off-screen romance have flared up domestic movie goers.

"Audiences could detect whether the rumors are true or not through their performance," said Liu Jianzhong, chairman of the board of Huaxia Film Company, the movie's Chinese distributor.

Liu seems happy to let Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's rumour goes as China has a large amount of Pitt's fans.

"I am overwhelmed by Pitt, and I heard that Pitt's divorce with Jennifer Aniston may derived from this film, so I come and watch," Zhang Weiyan, who attended the film premiere launched in a Beijing cinema Wednesday, told Xinhua.

Though Pitt and Jolie who play husband-and-wife assassins in the movie denied their off-screen intimacy, suspicion is still accelerating.

Reports said that the movie topped the box office list by raking in 50.3 million dollars in its opening weekend since it was screened in the United States on June 10.

Huaxia Film Company estimated that the film could earn at least 50 million yuan (6 million US dollars) in domestic market, entering into the top three imported films so far this year.

However, no matter serious industry magazine and street tabloid seems concerned more on the authenticity of their scandal than the movie itself.

Source: Xinhua