Topping the domestic box office chart on its third week on the screens, Jet Li’s latest fantasy action movie “The Sorcerer and the White Snake (白蛇传说 Its Love)” grossed an estimated 200 million RMB (about $31.4m) and still has a strong hold on the international box office charts, remaining at seventh place.
A cocktail party was held to celebrate its successful box office performance last night in Beijing with the participation of the production team, including director SiuTung Ching, executive producer Cui Baozhu, producer Yang Zi, the female lead of the movie Eva Huang and Yu Dong, the president of the production company the Bona Film Group.
According to Yu Dong, the movie will be released in South Korea, Japan and North America in the future. “At that time, we will see an even better performance,” he said.
The director also used the occasion to thank cast members for their hard work. He told the media, “It took a whole year for us to finish the movie. I can’t describe all the details of the hardship we endured in our work. But it was well worth it when we received enthusiastic responses from audiences.”
Producer Yang Zi also revealed that the movie had been the target of an online smear campaign, even before its release. Other victims included Zhang Yimou’s “The Flowers of War,” Lu Chuan’s “The Last Supper” and “Legendary Amazons” produced by Jackie Chan. He said that he hopes telling the truth can help to build integrity within the Chinese film industry. “I hope people can focus more on the films themselves, as opposed to scandals. I believe our Chinese filmmakers can make better movies in the future,” he added.
Chen Nan
Chinese Films