Director Stephen Chow (2nd L) and cast members of movie "The Mermaid" attend a fans meeting in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Feb. 16, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Lin Hong)
The Mermaid, the latest fantasy rom-com from Hong Kong director Stephen Chow, has earned more than 2 billion yuan ($307 million) after nine days in Chinese mainland theaters, according to a post on film's official Sina Weibo account on Tuesday.
Performing extremely well in such a short time, The Mermaid is expected to break the box office records Fast & Furious 7 and Monster Hunt set on the Chinese mainland to become the highest earning film in China's film history.
According to a report from film website mtime.com, Fast & Furious 7, which currently sits at No. 2 with 2.43 billion yuan, reached 2 billion yuan in 15 days, while the No.1 title holder Monster Hunt (2.44 billion yuan total), reached the 2 billion yuan mark in 25 days.
The film's success shows how much the Chinese film market has grown. In less than 10 days, The Mermaid has earned almost as much as the market's entire annual earnings for 2005.
However, despite the film's financial success, audiences have been particularly divided on the film, with many stating The Mermaid contains violent and sexual content not suitable for young audiences.
According to a Sina Weibo post by Australian-based film distributor Dream Movie Australia on February 4, the film will be rated R in North America.
The film is scheduled for release in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday and North America, Great Britain and Ireland on Friday.
In the post, Dream Movie Australia stated it recommended that Sony, the distributor of the film in North America, remove several violent scenes from the film so it could be given a different rating.
However, according to a recent report on entertainment website ent.163.com, the final version of The Mermaid to reach North American theaters will be the full Chinese language film and still be rated R.
