Actor and filmmaker Xu Zheng, who's best known for his blockbuster Lost franchise, is also entering the fiercely competitive market with two widely anticipated comedies:Lost in Russia and Adoring.

As the third installment of the Lost series, Lost in Russia-which sees Xu team up with actress Yuan Quan and actor Shen Teng-turns to the theme of family tensions, recounting the story of a businessman trying to patch up his relationship with his mother on a train trip to Russia. The movie will be released on Jan 25.

With Xu serving as the executive producer, the pet-themed filmAdoring, which will debut on Dec 31, has gained a lot of attention thanks to its unlikely "stars"-a pig, and several cats and dogs.

The film consists of six short stories, depicting actors of different ages re-examining their lives accompanied by their beloved pets. Its stellar cast includes Wu Lei, Zhang Zifeng, Wallace Chung, Yang Zishan, Zhong Chuxi and William Chan.

An anticipated sequel set to open on the first day of Spring Festival,Detective Chinatown 3reprises the roles played by actors Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran and Tsumabuki Satoshi, as well as fresh faces like Thai action star Tony Jaa.

Following the protagonist detectives' adventures in Bangkok and New York depicted in the first and second installments, the new film is set in Tokyo and shot using Alexa Imax cameras, ensuring high-standard visual quality.

Director Chen Sicheng reveals there will be more comedic scenarios in the new film. It will feature several landmark locations in Japan, including Akihabara and Shinjuku.

Figures from box-office tracker Maoyan show that Chinese cinema grossed over 59 billion yuan ($8.39 billion) from the start of January to late November.

Most industry insiders and observers expect the box-office haul in 2019 will surpass that of 2018, which stood at 61 billion yuan, given the large number of blockbusters due for release.

"I have witnessed the development of the Chinese film industry for more than a decade. I know many Chinese directors who are passionate about and devoted to cinema. The country will see an explosion in the number of excellent works, which will fuel the expansion of the industry over the next one or two decades on an unprecedented scale," says director Peter Chan at a forum during the Golden Rooster festival.

Chan's forthcoming sports film, Leap, about China's national women's volleyball team, is also one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the Spring Festival period. It'll open on Jan 25.

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