Successor: A comedy drama film that has taken the Chinese box office by storm<\/p>\n
The Chinese film industry\u2063 has once again proven its prowess with the release of “Successor,” a comedy-drama that has captivated\u2063 audiences and critics \u200dalike. This film, which has already made a significant \u2063impact \u200bin China, is now set\u200b for \u200dan international roll-out starting\u2063 early next month. <\/p>\n
Rights to the film have been picked up by CMC Pictures, the Chinese\u2062 studio \u200bbehind the “The Meg” monster shark franchise. CMC Pictures will handle theatrical releases in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., and \u2064Benelux, with the roll-out beginning on August\u200c 2.<\/p>\n
A story of \u200bresilience and hope<\/p>\n
“Successor” charts the \u200dups and downs of \u200ca poor dad and a\u200d hardworking mom, living in a broken yard and seemingly\u2062 having\u2064 fallen behind others on the road to prosperity. The film delves into the struggles and triumphs \u200bof this family, offering\u2063 a poignant yet humorous look\u200d at their journey.<\/p>\n
The film officially opened in Chinese theaters on July 16 and earned an\u2063 estimated $21 million on its first day. However, thanks to \u200cwide-scale\u2063 previews, it finished its \u2063first day\u2064 with an $89 \u2062million cumulative, dominating China\u2019s most recent weekend charts. On both Saturday\u200d and Sunday, the film enjoyed more than\u2064 140,000 screening sessions in China.<\/p>\n
A global phenomenon in the making<\/p>\n
The previews nature of its Saturday release meant that “Successor” did not show up in global or weekend\u200c box\u200d office charts compiled by Comscore. \u2064However, Comscore confirmed that the picture earned\u200c about $21.5 million in previews on Saturday and a further $27.7 million on Sunday.\u200c These\u200d figures\u2062 would have made “Successor” the\u2063 third biggest film in the world over the weekend,\u200c behind only “Despicable Me 4″\u200b and “Inside Out 2,” despite it playing for only two days.<\/p>\n
The film\u2062 is co-directed by Yan\u2064 Fei and Peng \u200cDamo, known for their work on “Hello, Mr. Billionaire” and “Goodbye, Mr. Loser.” The main cast\u2062 includes Shen Teng, \u2062Ma Li, Shi Pengyuan, Sa Rina, and Xiao Bochen. Production credits go to \u2063Zhang Lebin, Ma\u200c Chi, Tian Tian, and Zhang Meng.<\/p>\n
A strategic\u2064 release<\/p>\n
While films mostly \u200barrive in Chinese cinemas on Fridays, local distributors have been\u200b known to aggressively change release dates in response to building demand. “Box office pre-sales\u2063 [in China] exceeded expectations, so the release was\u2062 moved up,” a source close\u2063 to CMC told Variety. \u2064”This movie is really\u200d hilarious. From every aspect, it\u2019s expected to be a phenomenon.”<\/p>\n
Chinese ticketing agency Maoyan forecasts that “Successor” will continue to play strongly. It \u200bhas more than doubled its estimate \u2062of the film\u2019s potential lifetime gross, from a previous RMB1.6 billion ($220 million) to RMB3.7 billion ($513 million).<\/p>\n
A promising future<\/p>\n
According to an official synopsis,\u200b “Ma Chenggang and\u2064 Ma Chunlan, ride their donkey to work\u200c and see their son, \u2063Ma\u200c Jiye, as their only hope of turning their \u200bfate around. Jiye is very promising, excelling academically every year. He is tough and determined. But as Jiye grows up, he perceives that the people around him are becoming more and more \u200bstrange.”<\/p>\n
Chinese sources provide a\u200d list of production credits that include many of\u2064 the biggest companies in the mainland China \u200dentertainment scene. They include\u200d China Film Group, Guosi Lianrui Film, Alibaba Film Culture, Ruyi Entertainment, Kaixin Mahua Film, Maoyan Weiyin \u2064Media, and Wanda Media.<\/p>\n