Tiger is UK's biggest foreign film

Crouching Tiger: Romance, fantasy and martial arts

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has become the highest grossing foreign-language film in the UK, overtaking previous record-holder Life Is Beautiful.

Ang Lee's martial arts epic, which is in Mandarin, has made £3.08m since its release 20 days ago, compared with Life is Beautiful's £3.03m.

Top 6 foreign films in the UK

1. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (China) £3.08m

2. Life is Beautiful (Italy) £3.03m

3. Cyrano de Bergerac (France) £2.45m

4. Il Postino (Italy) £1.27m

5. Delicatessen (France) £1.26m

6. All About My Mother (Spain) £1.1m

Lee's film, which is also a love story, was London's top film for three weeks, before falling to second place during the weekend with £377,209 on 116 screens.

It has also attracted thousands of fans in the US taking $44.4m (£30.4) in the US so far.

It stars Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat, and has been tipped for Oscar success later in the year.

The Italian film, Life is Beautiful, starring Roberto Benigni, earned the actor an Oscar for Best Actor, but Crouching Tiger is tipped to go one better and win the coveted Best Picture award.

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If successful, it would be the first foreign language film to win the Best Picture award in the 73-year history of the Oscars.

Last month, it was given four awards by the Los Angeles Film Critics Circle, including best picture.

Set in 19th Century Beijing, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an eclectic mix of poignant romantic saga, epic Chinese fantasy, and martial arts action.

The martial arts epic is Ang Lee's first Chinese-language movie for six years. His previous films include Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil.