Ip Man's punch proved stronger than the Force at the local box office over the Christmas long weekend, as Ip Man 3 kicked Star Wars: The Force Awakens off the top of the chart.

In the four days from its release on Christmas Eve to Sunday, Ip Man 3, the third instalment in the franchise about the titular martial arts expert starring Donnie Yen, had made $2.65 million.

On Christmas Day, it grossed more than $765,000, setting the record as the highest-grossing Chinese movie in a single day in Singapore.

Procurement manager Caroline Ng, 27, was one of the moviegoers who chose to see Ip Man 3 over The Force Awakens last weekend.

She says: "Even though there was so much hype about Star Wars, I had never been a fan and I thought it was too complicated for me to try to watch it now because I wouldn't know the back story. But Ip Man is a simple story that anyone can watch and enjoy without prior knowledge."

Star Wars fan Kelvin Lim, 31, says he is not totally surprised at the results, given that The Force Awakens had opened a week earlier on Dec 17.

The marketing executive says: "Ip Man is a movie that the whole family can watch together because of its history and ties to Asian culture, and the fact that the last two Ip Man movies were so popular here.

"As for Star Wars, if you had really wanted to see it, you would have already gone to see it in the first week."

•Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Ip Man 3 are showing in cinemas.