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'Demons Strike Back' strikes silver-screen gold
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back tops the Spring Festival holiday's presale box-office charts.
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A scene in 'Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back'. A report by the industry-research company Entgroup shows 'The Demons Strike Back' has to date grossed nearly 47.7 million yuan ($6.96 million) in online presales. (Edko Films' YouTube channel/File)
'Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back' tops the Spring Festival holiday's presale box-office charts.
A report by the industry-research company Entgroup shows 'The Demons Strike Back' has to date grossed nearly 47.7 million yuan ($6.96 million) in online presales, followed by 'Buddies' in India at 33.6 million yuan and 'Kung Fu Yoga' at 19.5 million yuan.
'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' — the first installment — was the highest-grossing film in 2013.
All three movies — widely regarded as the most powerful players during the holiday — will open on Jan 30, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Produced by Stephen Chow and directed by Tsui Hark, 'The Demons Strike Back' marks the two Hong Kong cinematic legends' first-time partnership in their careers, which respectively span over three decades.
During a recent promotional tour in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Hark revealed that directing a film adapted from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West has been his dream for over 30 years.
(Read also: Jackie Chan plans to keep up stunts, despite age)
Domestic media earlier reported that Hark once considered asking renowned Taiwan actress Brigitte Lin to star as Tang Seng, the ancient monk protagonist in the novel. He even raised a monkey from Africa, but the filming plan didn't work out for commercial reasons.
"Digital technology was not mature then. Thanks to Chow and the current market, my dream has come true," says Hark.
"I put all the ideas I've formed during the past 30 years into the movie. It will be a very unlikely tale," he says.
Chow, who directed the first installment, says 'Journey to the West' is one of his favorite novels.
None of the 2013 film's top stars appear in The Demons Strike Back. The sequel stars Kris Wu as Tang Seng and Lin Gengxin as the Monkey King.
Up-and-coming actresses Lin Yun and Wang Likun, and veteran Yao Chen are also highlighted in the cast.
This article appeared on the China Daily newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
