'Journey to the West' earns 1 billion

Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's latest comedy "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" is a hit. Competing with Hollywood blockbusters like "Jack Reacher", "Cloud Atlas", and "The Hobbit", the Monkey King and his crew show explosive energy. It's a warm welcome for Chinese movie market's spring season.

In the past year, China has come out on top at the box office three times. Twice was in the New Year season.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" hit the screen three weeks ago and has already harvested 1 billion yuan. It has 260 million yuan to go before it catches up with "Lost in Thailand."

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. It's certain that Journey to the West will continue its growth."

The comedy broke the daily box office revenue record on Valentine's Day. That first day it made 122 million yuan, as the Monkey King beat Transformers Three to the top. And the fever continues to burn.

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

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

This latest version of "Journey to the West" created quite a buzz when it was released on Feburary the 10th, the first day of the Chinese lunar new year. It's based on the classic novel written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty over 400 years ago. The story has undergone multiple adaptations in Peking Opera, animation, comics, television, and of course motion pictures.

China's movie market is on an accelerating expansion. The number of screens tops 15,000.

And in the case of "Journey to the West", production, distribution and 13 cinema lines have joined efforts for the first time.

Gu Guoqing, chairman of Huaxia Film Distribution Company, said, "The cooperation is something new for us. It brings us closer to the market. Given the audience feedback, we'll strengthen our league and promote two to three blockbusters every year."

In the first two months of 2013, China saw over 100 million movie goers. The total box office revenue is expected to break 5 billion yuan, or nearly 800 million US dollars.