News

Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) has acquired international rights, including the US and Hong Kong, to Tsui Hark’s upcoming martial arts film Legends Of The Condor Heroes: The Gallants, following the studio’s recent success with Yolo.

The Chinese-language film is set for release in mainland China cinemas on January 29, the first day of Chinese New Year through China Film Group.

Spip will release it on the same day in Hong Kong, followed by Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand on February 20, the US on February 21 and Indonesia on February 26.

The film is adapted from the novel of...

Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) has acquired international rights, including the US and Hong Kong, to Tsui Hark’s upcoming martial arts film Legend Of The Condor Heroes: The Gallants, following the studio’s recent success with Yolo.

The Chinese-language film will is set for release in mainland China cinemas on January 29, the first day of Chinese New Year through China Film Group.

Spip will release it on the same day in Hong Kong, followed by Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand on February 20, the US on February 21 and Indonesia on February 26.

The film is adapted from the novel...

Mofac Animation Inc., South Korea’s most decorated visual effects studio, proudly announces its first-ever full-length animated movie: The King of Kings, an animated family film inspired by a little-known short story by Charles Dickens depicting the life and times of Jesus Christ.

The faith-based movie is in its final stages of production at Mofac Animation, as well as in performance recordings from the United Kingdom to the Hawaiian Islands – and numerous locations in between. The ever-growing, A-list cast will be announced at a future date. Mofac Animation is currently seeking potential distributors.

In the film, Charles Dickens finds trouble balancing his writing and performing with the parenting of his children – particularly his youngest son, Walter. Charles discovers the perfect bonding element via the sharing of his short story The Life of Our Lord – the reading of which would become an annual tradition in the Dickens’ family Christmas celebration. Master...

China and Netherlands-based Fortissimo Films has picked up international sales rights to anticipated Chinese blockbuster movie “If You Are the One 3.”

To be released on Dec. 30 in China, the picture is directed by Feng Xiaogang as the second sequel in his anti-romance comedy franchise, about a rich businessman and an air stewardess, which kicked off in 2008 and earned a follow-up in 2010. The new picture reunites the key cast Ge You and Shu Qi, as well as Fan Wei (“One Second”), Yao Chen (“Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back”) and Guan Xiaotong (“Shadow”).

Set in 2031, the new film tells the story of Qin (Ge) retiring alone on a small island, as his wife Xiaoxiao (Shu) is away all year long. Fan (Fan), Qin’s friend, designs an android identical to Xiaoxiao to keep Qin company. Spending time with the android and old friends, Qin reflects on loneliness and companionship,...

The follow-up comes 15 years after the original box office hit.

Fortissimo Films has secured international rights to upcoming Chinese comedy If You Are The One 3, the anticipated third instalment in Feng Xiaogang’s box office hit franchise.

The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company will begin talks on the feature ahead of its local release on December 30. Fortissimo will launch the title to the international market at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) in February. The firm will not handle sales in North America, Hong Kong, Macao, Australia or New Zealand.

The third instalment is released 15 years after You Are The One,...

Exclusive: Hong Kong-based producer Tsui Hark has boarded the ship as partner and co-producer of the Chinese pirate epic Shih, Queen of the Sea. Hark will partner with Anthony McCarten, Dakota Group and Facing East.

McCarten, whose biopic scripts range from Bohemian Rhapsody to The Theory of Everything, The Two Popes, Darkest Hour and numerous others, has here written the script about Shih Yang, aka Cheng I Sao, who dominated the South China Sea during the Qing Dynasty. Born into poverty, she worked on a “flower boat” brothel where she met the notorious pirate leader Cheng Yi, joining him at sea. Upon his death in 1807, she assumed full command of the fearsome Red Flag Fleet, commanding over 1,800 pirate ships and an estimated 80,000 pirates. By comparison, Blackbeard commanded four ships and 300 pirates within the same century. Shih instigated sweeping reforms to the rules of piracy, ordering execution for rape or marital...

Yao Chen and Cao Yu forged very different paths on their way to success in the Chinese film industry, but after 20 years of work each, they sat down for a chat about where their careers were headed, and they came to the same conclusion.

“We’d reached a similar stage in life,” explains Yao. “We were reflecting on certain work, certain issues of our own. We decided when it comes to genres, we wanted to have a more diversified, more colorful palette. All our projects now center on the predicament that human beings face — we are interested in exploring the difficult choices that people face.”

Partners already in life, Yao and Cao became partners in film by establishing the Bad Rabbit Pictures production house, with Yao drawing on the experience gained from an acting career that has brought acclaim for her television roles that have arguably cemented her as China’s most popular star,...

Major brands are dumping their partnerships with Kris Wu, a former member of the K-pop group Exo and one of China’s most influential celebrities, after he was accused of predatory behavior toward women.

The allegations have created a nationwide scandal and set the Chinese internet on fire. Eight out of the top 10 search items on the Twitter-like Weibo platform Monday were about the issue, while just one of the many related hashtags has garnered hundreds of thousands of comments and nearly 2 billion views.

“I just want to… prevent anyone from being hurt again. I hope I will be the last victim,” said 19-year-old college student Du Meizhu, who has come forward with detailed allegations about the 30-year-old star.

Wu, a Canadian citizen, has strongly denied the allegations. On Monday, Wu issued an official statement via social media. Representatives for Wu could not immediately be reached for comment late Monday.

Netflix has picked up international rights to “The Yin Yang Master” a film that is one of the big seven tentpole titles that will open in mainland Chinese cinemas on Friday and compete for Lunar New Year holiday audiences.

Netflix acquired distribution rights in the rest of the world ex-mainland China from Huayi Brothers Media (“The Eight Hundred”).

The fantasy movie is a game-to-film adaptation of “Onmyoji” directed by Li Weiran and starring Chen Kun (“Mojin: The Lost Legend”) and Zhou Xun.

It should not be confused with another film with a similar title “The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity” that ultimately draws on the same source material. The latter is the first element of a two-part, book-to-film adaptation, directed by Guo Jingming (“Tiny Times”). Netflix acquired rights to the Guo title from sales agency Fortissimo Films ahead of the film’s mainland China release on Dec. 25. It earned some...

Netflix has acquired exclusive global streaming rights outside of China to The Yin Yang Master. This is not to be confused with The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity which is already on the service and was released in China late last year. The new acquisition is one of the anticipated Lunar New Year titles that will begin its Chinese theatrical run on Friday. Netflix has not yet set a streaming date.

Adapted from the popular mobile game Onmyōji, the fantasy film reunites stars Chen Kun and Zhou Xun in their first collaboration since 2012’s Painted Skin: The Resurrection. Produced by Chen Kuo-fu and Chang Chia-lu and directed by Li Weiran, The Yin Yang Master finds the world on the verge of a devastating war with monsters who are coming back to retrieve the Scaling Stone. Yin Yang Master Qingming’s (Chen Kun) life is in danger and he travels to...

China’s government-led Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival has found a permanent home in Fujian province’s coastal city of Xiamen, starting from this year, municipal representatives said Monday at a Shanghai Intl. Film Festival press conference.

“Xiamen has the confidence and the perseverance to be up to the task,” said Dai Zhiwang, the assistant director of the city’s propaganda bureau.

Founded in 1992, the Golden Rooster festival and awards will take place November 19-23 at the Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center. Last year, the roving event took place in Guangdong Province’s Foshan in the south, and in 2017, in the northern province of Inner Mongolia’s Hohhot.

Actress Yao Chen, sometimes referred to as China’s Angelina Jolie, will be this year’s festival ambassador. A Fujian native herself, she lauded her home province’s food and climate. “I hope that in the future films will...

Billed as China’s first true sci-fi blockbuster, Frant Gwo’s ridiculously profitable (and borderline unwatchable) “The Wandering Earth” tells the story of a cursed future in which the sun has become unstable, and humanity’s only hope for survival are the 10,000 jet engines strong enough to dislodge our planet from its orbit and launch us toward a solar system that’s 4.2 light-years away.

Currently the second-highest grossing movie in Chinese box office history, and now dumped on Netflix without fanfare, Gwo’s film also tells the story of another cursed future — one that presents a more clear and present danger — in which the spectacle required to sustain popular cinema becomes so large that the industry congeals into a worldwide monoculture and creates a vacuum of credible artistic and cultural expression powerful enough to suck an entire medium into a black hole of its own making.

Studios rely on international audiences to survive,...

Macao’s Actress in Focus is a woman who has trained as a boxer, likes British actors, especially Benedict Cumberbatch and Jeremy Irons, and is now setting out her stall as a producer.

Yao Chen has built a career over 20 years thanks to TV shows including “My Own Swordsman,” and films including “If You Are The One 2,” Firestorm” and “Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe.” She has three more in this year’s Iffam: “Caught in the Web” from 2012; last year’s “Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back”; and the current ‘Lost, Found.” On Monday she will be in conversation, on stage with producer Nansun Shi.

First, she gives Variety an insight into the high pressures of Chinese celebrity, her role as one of the world’s most followed bloggers, and where she wants to take her career next.

Why accept the Iffam position as Actress in Focus?

“I...

Bao directs the film and stars alongside Johnny Wen.

Hong Kong-based Golden Network Asia has picked up international rights to action comedy Fat Buddies, which is the directorial debut of leading comedic actor Bei’er Bao.

Bao also stars with Johnny Wen in the film, which was mostly shot in Japan and will be released in October 2018 during China’s National Day holiday period. Korean-American actress Clara Lee (Line Walker) and Japanese action legend Yasuaki Kurata also star.

The story follows a special agent who gains weight during missions, and ends up in a Japanese hospital where he teams up...

Universal Music Group today announced an exclusive international recording agreement with Kris Wu, one of Asia’s biggest stars, whose work encompasses music, film and television.

Under the agreement, future music from Wu will be released internationally, excluding Japan and Korea, through a partnership of Universal Music China, Interscope Geffen A&M in the U.S. and Island Records in the U.K., as well as Umg’s operations in more than 60 countries.

The 27-year-old music producer, singer song-writer and actor was born in Guangzhou, China, and in October became the only Chinese artist to reach No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Chart with the success of the single “Deserve,” featuring Travis Scott; the song has racked up more than a billion streams to date. Over the past few years, Wu has written and produced a number of other international hits, including “July,” “6” and “Juice.”

Wu has starred in films including “XxX: Return of Xander Cage,...

Louis Koo named best actor for Paradox; Teresa Mo wins best actress for Tomorrow Is Another Day.

Ann Hui’s period drama Our Time Will Come was the big winner at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards (April 15), taking five prizes including best film and best director.

The film (pictured), about Hong Kong’s resistance to Japanese occupation during the Second World War, also won best supporting actress for Deanie Ip’s performance, best art direction and best original film score (Joe Hisaishi). Hisaishi was also awarded best original music for the film at the Asian Film Awards last month.

The world's biggest box-office season — Chinese New Year in China — is still two weeks away, but the country's unreleased blockbusters are already sucking up revenue before liftoff.

Fantasy sequel Monster Hunt 2, directed by DreamWorks Animation veteran Raman Hui, had reached $11.3 million (70.6 million Rmb) in ticket presales by midday Friday. With a full 14 days before its opening Feb. 16, the film should easily surpass the $16 million (101 million Rmb) in presales raked in by Chen Kaige's Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, last year's Cny opening-weekend winner.

In February 2016, China set a record for...

The Ex-File: The Return Of The Exes stays top of the chart.

Now nearing $300m, The Ex-File: The Return Of The Exes continued to top the Chinese box office in the second week of 2018 (Jan 8-14), while Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle won the weekend.

Source: Sony / Disney

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle / Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Local romance comedy Ex-File 3 (The Return Of The Exes) has further consolidated itself as the year’s first megahit, adding $76.3m for a 17-day total of $293.3m. It has surpassed two 2017 Chinese New Year blockbusters, Kung Fu Yoga and Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, to become the fifth highest grossing local film of all time and the eighth highest grossing film overall.

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle debuted with $42.9m from its three-day opening weekend, ending Ex-File 3’s reign as the No.1 film for 13 straight days. Sony’s adventure sequel was the undisputed top performer for the weekend...

Walt Disney Pictures has entered a long-term partnership with startup Taiwanese production company Wudi Pictures to co-develop live-action films targeting the massive Chinese movie market.

The partners already have collaborated on the development of romantic comedy Miss Taken, starring Chinese A-lister Jelly Lin (The Mermaid, Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back) and Chen Bolin (Chinese Zodiac). The project, co-produced by Walt Disney Studios China, Shanghai Artrendwave Productions and Shanghai Media Group Pictures, is currently in postproduction and will be released in China in the second half of 2017.

Wudi Pictures was founded in 2016 by veteran Taiwanese producer...

Universal's The Fate of the Furious was the only new movie getting a nationwide release this weekend, with studios avoiding competing with this blockbuster-to-be. While it did come in under expectations, the high octane sequel easily came away with a box office win with $100.1 million. The sequel marks the first installment of the franchise's final trilogy, and while it didn't debut higher than the previous installment, it proves that the franchise can still draw a crowd.

Box Office Mojo reports that The Fate of the Furious opened in 4,310 theaters for an impressive $23,244 per-screen average. While it did come in under Furious 7's franchise opening weekend record of $147.1 million, it did overperform worldwide, pulling in a massive $432.3 million from foreign territories for a worldwide total of $532.4 million. We reported last week that the film scored broke a pre-sales box office record in China, which is one of the main countries...

Fans will finally get to see the highly-anticipated sequel The Fate of the Furious during sneak preview screenings tonight, but fans in select international markets got to see the movie a few days early, and it is already off to a great start. Universal's sequel opened in eight international markets on Wednesday, pulling in $7.9 million, and when previews for 12 other territories are figured in, the international tally jumps to $19.7 million. The sequel opens in 33 more territories today, while it is also expected to open huge in China, after setting a new pre-sales box office record.

Deadline reports that China's midnight screenings got under way at 9 Am Pst, with pre-sale figures adding up to a whopping $43.5 million, just two hours before the screenings kicked off. This tally easily beat China's previous pre-sales record of $14.6 million for Tsui Hark and Stephen Chow's Chinese blockbuster Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSLam SuetThis year's Asian Film Awards are most notable for giving beloved Hong Kong character actor (and Johnnie To axiom) Lam Suet the award for Best Supporting Actor (for Trivisa). We were also happy to see that Tsui Hark (still madly inventive with this year's Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back) was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.Chinese actress Li Li-hua has died at the age of 92. While not very well known in the West—except perhaps in the obscure Frank Borzage film China Doll (1958)—Li's work for the Shaw Brothers studio and, later, Golden Harvest, minted many classics, including Li Han-hsiang's The Magnificent Concubine (1962), and Storm Over the Yangtse River (1969), as well as King Hu's The Fate of Lee Khan (1975).For those who aren't able to travel to the Locarno Film Festival but are able to...

There is a thrilling selection of Chinese-language titles at Filmart this year. Liz Shackleton picks out some of the most promising.

With very few Hong Kong or mainland Chinese sellers making the journey to this year’s European Film Market in Berlin, Filmart offers a chance for buyers to catch up with the Chinese-language titles that will be rolled out in the region for the rest of the year.

After serving up the biggest film of the Chinese New Year holiday — Kung Fu Yoga, starring Jackie Chan and directed by Stanley Tong — China’s Sparkle Roll Media has launched a Hong Kong-based sales arm that is selling Ding Sheng’s reboot of the A Better Tomorrow series.

Other high-profile action titles new to market include Distribution Workshop’s Extraordinary Mission, from the creative teams behind the Infernal Affairs and Overheard series, and Huayi Brothers’ crime drama Explosion, starring Duan Yihong.

Previously announced...

The Journey To The West director is one of China’s most bankable filmmakers.

This year’s Asian Film Awards (Afa) will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to iconic Hong Kong director, producer and screenwriter Tsui Hark.

Tsui most recently directed Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, produced by fellow Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Chow, which was one of the top-grossing releases in mainland China over the Chinese New Year holiday period. His other recent China blockbusters include Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon (2013) and The Taking Of Tiger Mountain (2014).

Starting with his 2011 hit Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate, Tsui has made all his films as a director in 3D and has become one of the region’s most effective filmmakers in the use of 3D technology.

Although currently one of China’s most bankable filmmakers, Tsui’s career stretches back some 40 years. In 1984, he founded Film Workshop with Nansun Shi, through which he...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSSexy DurgaThe Hivos Tiger Awards of the International Film Festival Rotterdam have been announced, with Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's Sexy Durga taking home the Tiger, Niles Atallah's Rey winning the Special Jury Award, and Caroline Leone's Pela janela being picked by Fipresci.New York's Whitney Museum has revealed its full film program for the 2017 Biennial, with a focus on such filmmakers as Mary Helena Clark, James N. Kienitz Wilkins, Kevin Jerome Everson, Eric Baudelaire and Robert Beavers.Recommended VIEWINGThe eagerly awaited trailer for Sofia Coppola's new film, a remake of Don Siegel's bizarre and wonderful The Beguiled, with Colin Farrell in Clint Eastwood's role.The glorious full trailer for James Gray's Amazonia exploration melodrama, The Lost City of Z."The screen is a neutral element in the film-going experience. Or is it? It projects dreams...

Most box office analysts predicted that Split would fail to win for a third weekend in a row, going up against Paramount's Rings and Stx Entertainment's The Space Between Us. A surprisingly small third frame decline and an underperforming crop of newcomers lead to Split winning for a third weekend in a row with $14.5 million. Its domestic total now stands at $98.7 million, with a worldwide haul of $142.7 million from just a $9 million budget.

Director M. Night Shyamalan's Split has already surpassed the totals for his last low-budget thriller, The Visit, which earned $65.2 million domestically and $98.4 million worldwide from just a $5 million budget in the fall of 2015. While it was a fairly close race, Rings came in a somewhat close second place with $13 million, debuting in 2,931 theaters for a middling $4,435 per-screen average, according to Box Office Mojo. Rings' debut failed to surpass both of its predecessors, with 2002's The Ring opening with $15 million,...

Although they’re often designed to remind audiences of what they liked about a previous movie, sequels often have to settle for a less glamorous version of that job description: reminding audiences that what they liked about a previous movie can be difficult to reproduce, even if the movie in question wasn’t a stone-cold classic. Stephen Chow’s Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons is not one of his very best films; it sometimes gets bogged down in its mythology, and its comic snap isn’t as crisp or consistent as The Mermaid, let alone something like Kung Fu Hustle. But its new sequel, Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, is an object lesson in the relative specialness of even a second-tier Chow effort.

Chow has returned to write and produce this sequel, handing the directing reins over to veteran filmmaker Tsui Hark. Hark approximates the...

Veteran Hong Kong hitmakers Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan are the heroes of China's box office yet again.

The latest blockbuster releases from the two icons helped fuel 13 percent growth in ticket sales over China's week-long New Year holiday period. China's box office also recorded a 25 percent year-on-year gain in January — the market's first increase since August.

Chow's Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back set a single-day record of $52.5 million (354 million yuan) on Jan. 28, the first day of Chinese New Year. Over the following six days ending Feb. 2, total ticket revenue...

Last year three new films debuted over Super Bowl weekend and only one of the three (Hail, Caesar!) managed to top $10 million. In fact, Super Bowl weekend last year was the fourth worst overall weekend of 2016 as the top twelve managed to only gross a combined $82 million. As for Super Bowl weekend this year, it's only looking mildly better as Universal's Split will tussle with Paramount's Rings in an attempt to threepeat atop the weekend box office. Elsewhere, Stx's The Space Between Us may struggle to debut within the top five while the Weinstein Co. hopes their Oscar-nominated feature Lion finds its way into the top ten as it expands into over 1,400 theaters nationwide. Last weekend saw Universal's Split finish atop the weekend box office for a second week in a row, dropping only 36%, much better than previous horror films with similar openings. This weekend Split will have to contend...

Opening this Friday, February 3rd, just under the radar is Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, the sequel to Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons; and we have a trailer and more for you who like your… Continue Reading →

The post Evil Gets Revenge in Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back appeared first on Dread Central.

It’s finally the month of the Oscars, and while you catch up on the best films of last year, there’s also a wealth of promising new films to check out in theaters. From horror to action to documentaries to the top Sundance winner to a Polish cannibal horror mermaid musical, there’s something for everyone. We should also note that, for those looking to repertory options, Josef von Sternberg’s newly restored final film Anatahan will start rolling out this week.

Matinees to See: Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2/3), Youth in Oregon (2/3), The Space Between Us (2/3), David Brent: Life on the Road (2/10), The Great Wall (2/17), Land of Mine (2/17), Kiki (2/24)

15. Xx (St. Vincent, Karyn Kusama, Roxanne Benjamin, Sofìa Carrillo, and Jovanka Vuckovic; Feb. 17)

Synopsis: An all-female horror anthology.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: After the anthologies V/H/S and The ABCs of Death ran their course,...

Three Chinese films easily took the top 3 spots while Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and La La Land were the biggest Hollywood offerings. The three Chinese films I mentioned earlier are Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back with $82.7 million in 1st, Buddies in India with $43.7 million in 2nd and Jackie Chan’s Kong […]

Read International Box Office: Trio of Chinese Films and Resident Evil Top the Weekend on Filmonic.

M. Night Shyamalan's surprise hit Split continued to dominate the box office last weekend thanks to just a 35.9% second-weekend drop which resulted in an impressive $25.6 million take, easily beating newcomers A Dog's Purpose, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Gold. This weekend, it will go up against the long-awaited and oft-delayed horror sequel Rings and Stx Entertainment's drama The Space Between Us, in this weekend's race for box office supremacy. While Split very well may suffer another minimal drop in its third weekend, we're predicting that Rings will take the top spot with $21.6 million.

Director M. Night Shyamalan's Split has far exceeded every expectation at the box office, currently standing at $77.3 million domestic and just over $101 million worldwide, from a $9 million budget. After just two weeks, those numbers have already surpassed the totals for his last low-budget thriller, The Visit, which earned $65.2 million domestically and $98.4 million worldwide from...

The Chinese New Year holiday brought the world's No. 2 box office roaring back to life over the weekend, as Stephen Chow's Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back pulled in $83.4 million over two days.

The seven-day holiday, kicking off Saturday, is usually China's hottest box-office stretch of the year. Demons Strike Back opened to $52.5 million Saturday, overtaking last year's Chinese New Year champion The Mermaid to set a new single-day record for a local film. Only Universal's Furious 7 — $68.8 million in 2015 — has earned more in one day in China.

Demons Strike Back...

comScore today announced the official worldwide weekend box office estimates for the weekend of January 29, 2017, as compiled by the company’s theatrical measurement services. This past weekend saw the continued domination of M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Split, on the domestic front. The film beat out the domestic totals of both A Dog’s Purpose and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.

Not only did Split enjoy a better-than-expected opening weekend, taking in around $40 million domestically, but in this past weekend it only dropped around 34.3 percent, taking in $26.3 million, more than enough to catapult it into first place for the second weekend in a row. Without a doubt, the positive word of mouth seems to be doing this flick some real good.

A Dog’s Purpose came in at around $18.4 million. While the film only cost around $22 million to make, so it looks like it’ll make back its production...

As Chinese New Year officially swung into gear on Saturday, so did five local movies that together boosted Middle Kingdom box office with upwards of $200M across the 2-day frame. Chief among the new entries is Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, a sequel to Stephen Chow’s 2013 hit Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons. The highly-anticipated fantasy set PROC and IMAX opening records on Saturday and is currently at an average estimated $85M with Sunday…...

Fantasy sequel takes $52.5m on its opening day in China to dominate overseas box office.

Further studio results to come…

Chinese New Year

With six titles competing for local audiences on Chinese New Year yesterday (January 28), Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back won the battle.

Tsui Hark’s fantasy sequel recorded the biggest-ever day for a local Chinese title and the second biggest of all time with an estimated $52.5m in China, topping the Chinese record set by The Mermaid last year and only behind Furious 7.

Estimates for the two-day weekend aren’t yet available, but from 390 IMAX screens, it took $7.4m, with $4.5m coming from its bumper first day. That marks the best-ever day for a local language title and the third biggest of all time, behind Warcraft and Furious 7.

Sony Pictures Releasing International

Resident Evil is now the biggest video game based film franchise of all time as it crossed the $1bn...

Fantasy sequel takes $52.5m on its opening day in China to dominate overseas box office.

Further studio results to come…

Chinese New Year

With six titles competing for local audiences on Chinese New Year yesterday (January 28), Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back won the battle.

Tsui Hark’s fantasy sequel recorded the biggest-ever day for a local Chinese title and the second biggest of all time with an estimated $52.5m in China, topping the Chinese record set by The Mermaid last year and only behind Furious 7.

Estimates for the two-day weekend aren’t yet available, but from 390 IMAX screens, it took $7.4m, with $4.5m coming from its bumper first day. That marks the best-ever day for a local language title and the third biggest of all time, behind Warcraft and Furious 7.

Sony Pictures Releasing International

Resident Evil is now the biggest video game based film franchise of all time as it crossed the $1bn...

In a widely circulated trailer for Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, the film's producer Stephen Chow is shown being chastised and berated by director Tsui Hark for being an infantile good-for-nothing. It's pure theater shaped for comical effect, of course — in reality, it's Chow who recruited Tsui to direct the latest entry in his lucrative Monkey King franchise — but the play-acting is actually a fitting summary of the fruits of their collaboration.

A follow-up to Chow's self-directed 2013 blockbuster Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, The Demons Strike Back boasts the inventive, scintillating VFX-laden...

Hong Kong cinema icons Tsui Hark and Stephen Chow have teamed up for the upcoming Journey To The West: Demon Chapter as director and producer, respectively, and while the pair have clearly had a blast with the teaser campaign so far - the duo have been appearing as themselves at the end of the teasers so far, nagging each other about the quality of their work - the time has apparently come for a full, more traditional, trailer for the picture. And it seems safe to say that fans will be pleased. Based on one of the most popular pieces of folklore in Chinese history, this is as close to a guaranteed hit as there can be and you can see the clear influence of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Back in November producer Stephen Chow and director Tsui Hark kicked off the press campaign for their upcoming Journey To The West: Demon Chapter with a teaser trailer made up of raw, unfinished footage and a whole lot of playful bickering between the two big screen icons. And they're back now with a new teaser - one that upgrades the footage with the first look at fully finished visuals but keeps the bickering. Journey To The West is, of course, an absolutely mammoth property across Chinese cultures. It's been fertile ground for Chow in the past and with Chow coming off the massive success of The Mermaid - a film which grossed over half a billion dollars at the Chinese box office alone - and...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

A pair of absolute titans have joined forces for the upcoming Journey To The West: Demon Chapter with Kung Fu Hustle's Stephen Chow producing and Once Upon A Time In China's Tsui Hark directing and the duo are clearly having a bit of fun together. With this latest adaptation of the sprawling Chinese folk tale due for release in January the first teaser for the picture has just arrived and it's a bit of an odd one, made up entirely of raw footage without any VFX work included, followed by Chow and Hark sitting on a couch arguing about what they just saw. When you have names this big working on a title with a simply enormous built in audience - there's simply nothing bigger...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...