介绍:
It is that time of the year again, a time when buttered popcorns sell better, 3D glasses become common accessories, while Hollywood blockbusters and domestic flicks battle head-to-head for their share in this world's second largest movie market.
The National Day holiday is one of the most popular public celebrations in China. Running for one week, it has always been a revelry for cinema-goers.
"I come here to watch 'Lost in Hong Kong'. Since it's a public holiday, I want to see something relaxing and funny."
"I just finish watching 'Goodbye Mr Loser'."
"I love 'The Balala Little Fairy' the most."
Among the fierce movie smackdowns, domestic comedies no doubt set the bar high for other genres this time.
Directed and starring by Xu Zheng, "Lost in Hong Kong", or known as "Gang Jiong" in Chinese, smashes several box office records. Featuring a tumultuous and frisky journey of a middle-age man and his brother-in-law, the movie ensures the success of its prequel, Lost in Thailand, by pulling in some 547 million yuan, or 86 million US dollars in just seven days.
Although the franchise has been argued for being too vulgar, "Lost in Hong Kong" has still edged itself into the list of top-grossing Chinese movies.
The actor-turned-director explains.
"Luckily we chose comedy, this well-received genre can tell our story. I believe that comedy should provide the good things and harken for the return of mainstream values. It should also provide an ending that audiences will be pleased and satisfied with."
But surprisingly, at the box office, such blockbusters still give way to low-budget rom-com "Goodbye Mr Loser", or in Chinese, "Xia Luo Te Fan Nao". Telling a story of underdog travelling across time to change fate, the drama won the week with roughly 590 million yuan, or 93 million US dollars.
"I didn't check. But I laughed from the beginning till the end"
"Usually when we step into cinema, we expect comedies to be empty and entertaining. You won't remember a thing after watching them. But this one is totally different. It leaves something in your heart that could constantly warm you like a small sun."
During the holiday, "Ghost Blows Out: The Nine-story Demon Tower" also scored a solid 73 million US dollars to take the third place spot. Adopted from best-selling online fiction and helmed by award-winning director Lu Chuan, this action thriller is surely an eye candy despite being widely criticised for its poor plot.
But "Saving Mr Wu" is not so lucky. Starring Hong Kong star Andy Lau, multi-award winning actors Liu Ye and Wang Qianyuan, the fact-based crime drama is based on the true abduction case from one of the cast. Although being critically acclaimed, it rang up takings less than 30 million US dollars.
Meanwhile, the rest of the spots are partitioned by animations, such as"Minions" and "A Tale From the Orient". American adventure film "Inside out" snapped the fifth on the chart.
Accordingly, during this year's National Day holiday, the overall box-office in China outpaced last year's by 60% with takings of 1.85 billion yuan, or 290 million US dollars.
However, could this spree last long?
Time will tell.
