A low-budget comedy has set new box office records on the Chinese mainland, attracting moviegoers with its simple style and hilarious performances.

“Lost in Thailand,” which was made with a budget of less than five million U.S. dollars, earned 50 million dollars in its first five days after debuting on Dec. 12.Its first day saw earnings of 5.9 million dollars, the biggest opening in the history of Chinese film, according to statistics from entertainment research group EntGroup Inc. Its weekly box office is estimated to have reached 72 million dollars as of Dec. 19, also the highest for a Chinese film. The film, a sequel to the 2010 movie “Lost on Journey,” is expected to gross more than 100 million dollars during its run, a feat achieved by few Chinese movies.

Lead actor and director Xu Zheng said Wednesday that he did not expect such a great market response. Wang Changtian, head of Enlight Media, which distributed the film, attributed the film’s success to Xu and the performances of his fellow stars Wang Baoqiang, Huang Bo and Tao Hong. Huang first became known to Chinese audiences with his 2006 film “Crazy Stone,” a film that helped clear the way for other low-budget films to achieve market success.

More@: https://www.china.org.cn/arts/2012-12/20/content_27479215.htm