Beijing -- "Kung Fu Panda" enjoyed a successful first week of release in China despite a protest aimed at keeping the U.S. film out of the country, gate figures show.

"Panda" earned a total of nearly $14.8 million since being released in China this week despite an attempted boycott by Chinese performance artist Zhao Bandi, The Independent reported Friday.

Bandi said the animated U.S. movie, whose animal characters engage in martial arts exploits, was in bad taste, opening so soon after the May 12 earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in China, the British newspaper said.

The DreamWorks Animation film was eventually allowed to be released in China and noted Chinese director Lu Chuan says the film does a good job of representing the country's national symbol, the panda.

"From a production standpoint, the movie is nearly perfect. Its American creators showed a very sincere attitude about Chinese culture," he wrote in an online blog.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.