Lost in Thailand: new box office record with 1 bln grossed

A low-budget, domestically produced comedy has unexpectedly become the highest-grossing Chinese film to date. The wacky road movie "Lost in Thailand" has grossed more than 1 billion yuan since its December 12 debut.

"Lost in Thailand" tells the story of two managers who compete to find the company's biggest shareholder in Thailand to secure a contract approval making fools of themselves in the process.

The light-hearted comedy, which cost only 30 million yuan and was made by actor-turned green-hand director Xu Zheng, raked in 700 million yuan in just 2 weeks after its debut. And the audiences are already begging for another serving of Xu's comedic flair.

Xu Zheng, Director & Actor, Lost In Thailand, said, "Now the expectations from our audiences are very high. So we won't rush into another film, but we're always ready when another good story appears."

An estimated 30 million people have seen the film so far, and tickets continue to sell out.

"There's one last seat for 2 o'clock, or you will have to wait for another 2 hours."

For many audiences, "Lost in Thailand" goes best with the holiday spirit. In comparison, another movie from better-known comedic director Feng Xiaogang, is under-performing. His "Back to 1942", in a departure from his previous work, is a dramatic telling of the drought in Henan Province 70 years ago, that killed 3 million and left millions homeless.

"It's the holiday season, we want to feel happy."

"There's already a lot of pressure from work. A good comedy can lighten my day up."

And to veteran film critics, the success of "Lost in Thailand" says more than just "laughter sells".

Wu Hehu, Film Critic, said, "Chinese film makers need to change their outdated way of thinking. It really doesn't matter how much money you throw into a movie, as long as the movie is good and its content is appealing to movie-goers, it will be successful."

The success of the lighthearted movie and the relative disappointment of the disaster drama have also sparked debates online about what people should watch. One ardent supporter of Lost in Thailand squarely put it this way: "Life is pretty tough already. Why should I spend money to have a hard time?"