‘Journey to the West’ sequel tops foreign box office
BEIJING: ‘Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back' rang in Chinese New Year on a high note. The fantasy sequel topped the foreign box office, bringing in a massive US$ 85 million. It is the follow-up to the 2013 smash ‘Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons'. Stephen Chow, the director of the first film, wrote the screenplay, but handed the filmmaking calls over to Tsui Hark (‘A Better Tomorrow'). The first film was one of the highestgrossing Chinese releases in history, earning US$ 215 million.
‘Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back' had the biggest day ever for a local Chinese title, earning US$ 52.5 million on its opening day, topping the record established last year by ‘ The Mermaid'. It also did particularly well in Imax, making US$ 7.4 million across 390 of the premium theatre company's screens. Imax set a new record for best opening day ever for a local language title.
Two other Chinese-backed films, ‘ Buddies in India' and ‘ Kung Fu Yoga', took second and third place on the charts, earning US$ 44 million and US$ 40 million, respectively. ‘Buddies in India' is the directorial debut of popular comic Wang Baoqiang and centres on two friends trying to find a lost will, while ‘ Kung Fu Yoga' stars Jackie Chan as an archaeology professor on a treasure hunt.
Sony's ‘ Resident Evil: The Final Chapter' was the highestgrossing US film on the foreign box office chart. The sciencefiction adventure picked up US$ 28.3 million to bring its global gross to US$ 78.4 million.
Paramount's ‘ XXX: The Return of Xander Cage' rounded out the top five, picking up US$ 24 million to bring its global gross to US$ 122.5 million. The action film has been greeted with a shrug by stateside audiences, having only earned $ 33.5 million domestically. However, Paramount appears to have manufactured the film to have greater foreign appeal, casting Kris Wu, Tony Jaa, and Ruby Rose, major stars in China, Thailand, and Australia, alongside Vin Diesel.