'The Monkey King 3' premiere signals colossal showdown

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, February 6, 2018

Director Cheang Pou-soi and his star-studded cast led by Aaron Kwok, Zhao Liying and Feng Shaofeng appear on stage to promote their new film "The Monkey King 3" in Beijing, Feb. 4, 2018. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

"The Monkey King 3" held a grand premiere ceremony last night in Beijing, signaling an upcoming colossal showdown between the fantasy film and other blockbusters during China's most profitable Spring Festival film season.

Director Cheang Pou-soi, along with his star-studded cast led by Aaron Kwok, Zhao Liying, Feng Shaofeng, Xiao Shenyang, Him Law, Gigi Leung, Pan Binlong and more, attended the premiere held at the packed Beijing National Indoor Stadium. The gala-styled premiere also featured performances by Jane Zhang, Lang Lang, Li Ronghao and Henry Lau, as well as legendary conductor Hu Weili and the China Film Symphony Orchestra.

Among the rivals for the Spring Festival film season, including highly-anticipated "Monster Hunt 2," "Operation Red Sea" and "Detective Chinatown 2," "The Monkey King 3" is the only one which has treated a large audience and the media with an advanced screening on a giant screen, indicating the confidence of its producers.

It is the third installment of a film series based on the 16th-century Chinese fantasy classic, "Journey to the West." The film franchise was created by director Cheang Pou-soi and produced by Filmko Entertainment in collaboration with dozens of other investors and distributors.

"The Monkey King 3" is adapted by screen writer Wen Ning from a chapter in the original novel, depicting an exotic kingdom inhabited solely by women. The female ruler falls in love with the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) monk Xuanzang, who is on a mission from China to India with his three magical followers to collect Buddhist sutras.

Despite receiving mostly mixed reviews, the previous two "Monkey King" episodes grossed more than 1 billion yuan (US$150 million) each at the box office during the prime Spring Festival season in 2014 and 2016. "The Monkey King 2" went on to win two awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume and Make-up Design at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards held in April 2017.

As a tent-pole production, "The Monkey King 3" has a vast scope for production which lasted for two years. A 1,000-strong cast and crew visited four provinces to shoot scenes while the production team has constructed massive outdoor sets covering 80,000 square meters as well as eleven indoor sets. Thousands of staff were also hired to work on post-production. The film's budget is reportedly 550 million yuan (US$87.34 million). Presales for the film have already reached a stunning 50 million yuan (US$7.94 million)

The other big rivals of "The Monkey King 3" have also invested heavily, with respective budgets of above 400 million yuan (US$63.53 million) and good presales. With a reported 900 million yuan (US$142.95 million) budget, "Monster Hunt 2," the sequel to the former largest grossing Chinese film ever in history, is currently the winner with presales of 100 million yuan (US$15.88 million) at box offices.

Box office analysts speculate that all the films screened on Chinese Lunar New Year's Day will gross a combined 1 billion yuan (US$158.8 million)on that day alone, which has never happened before. But due to high production costs, the blockbusters face high risks. They still have to attain combined sales of 7 billion yuan (US$1.11 billion) to ensure they can earn back their investment.

"The Monkey King 3" will also have advanced screenings for a special time-limited release on Valentine's Day to cash in on the love theme of the film.

1 2 3 4 >