'Journey to the West' sweeps domestic ticket sales

Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's latest comedy "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" has become a box office hit. Competing with Hollywood blockbusters like "Jack Reacher", "Cloud Atlas" as well as the upcoming "The Hobbit", the film still shows explosive energy while it rakes it in at the box office. It seems that domestic comedies have become the new darling of the Chinese movie market.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" created quite a buzz when it was released on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year. The film is based on the classic novel written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty some 600 years ago. Today Stephen Chow gives it a modern twist.

The comedy broke the daily box office revenue record on Valentine's Day. That first day it made 122 million yuan, beating Transformers III to the top. And the fever it brought has continued to burn.

Audience member said, "I've watched the film twice. It's terrific and it's quite a good laugh. So I brought my friend to watch it again."

Audience member said, "My friends all told me the film is very interesting. But I was out travelling during spring festival. So I came to watch it now."

Audience member said, "Journey to the West is all over the place on the internet. And it's Stephen Chow's film. After the Spring Festival now I have time to come watch it."

Reporter: "Journey to the West has raked in more than 700 million yuan in ten days and has set a new box office record. But whether the film can continue its crazy run, it remains to be seen."

Alongside "Journey to the West" are Hollywood blockbusters like Jack Reacher, Cloud Atlas, and the upcoming the Hobbit which hits China this Friday. But, cinemas still seem to favor the domestic comedy as the Chinese New Year atmosphere hasn't yet passed.

Jiang Guofang with Capital Cinema said, "'Journey to the West' has taken more than 30 percent of our screening times since its release, and made up for half of our total revenue. Jack Reacher, which hit the screens last Saturday, somehow didn't meet our expectations and we are cutting some screening times. The Hobbit is coming this Friday. It is certain that Journey to the West will continue its growth."

This isn't the first time a domestic film has held the competitive edge in the Chinese movie in recent years. Last year, imported films took more than half of the total market revenue. Yet, the box-office champion was the Chinese made small-budget film "Lost in Thailand."

Domestic comedies are attracting more and more interest. But "Journey to the West" still has 500 million yuan in tickets sales to go before it beats the record set by "Lost in Thailand."