A scene from
Detective Chinatown 3, which will open across Chinese theaters on the first day of Lunar New Year.[Photo provided to China Daily]
When the clock struck midnight on Jan 17, all the upcoming films striving to make a splash during the Spring Festival holiday－the most lucrative box-office season in the world's second-largest movie market－simultaneously launched presale tickets online.
Hauling in 256 million yuan ($37.1 million) by Wednesday, Detective Chinatown 3 has topped the presale box-office charts, far surpassing the second-highest film Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification.
The new film will open across Chinese theaters on Saturday, the first day of the Year of the Rat. It will also be released in 150 cinemas in over 50 cities and towns in North America on the eve of Lunar New Year.
Chen Sicheng, creator of the Detective Chinatown franchise, announced that the new sequel, set in Tokyo, was to be his last directorial work of the series.
"Over the past five years, Detective Chinatown has produced three feature-length movies and an online series, which has shaped its unique style," says Chen in an interview with China Daily.
Starring actors Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran as an uncle and his nephew respectively, the franchise follows the efforts of the amateur detective duo in solving a series of mysterious cases from Bangkok in the first film to New York in the second, and Tokyo in the upcoming third installment.
Director Chen Sicheng (center) on the film set.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Unlike traditional detective films which set a serious tone and unfold in a nail-biting fashion, this franchise is more of a buddy movie featuring funny moments and exotic backdrops, a pivotal characteristic in helping to pave its way to major success.
Following the first Detective Chinatown film that earned 830 million yuan to soar as the cinematic dark horse of 2015, the second romp raked in 3.4 billion yuan, propelling it to become the highest-grossing comedy of all time in China.
The popularity of the franchise has been enhanced with the recently released 12-episode online series of the same title, which has gained 7.5 points out of 10 on the review site Douban, a barometer of popularity.
With Chen serving as the chief producer and scriptwriter, the online drama consists of three stand-alone stories, which were shot over 114 days in Bangkok, Taiwan and Tokyo.
Industry analysts say the online series, which has been streaming on the iQiyi platform since Jan 1, is a smart and strategic move as a warmup for the upcoming third movie installment.
"I have kept my eye on the film market, especially during the Spring Festival holidays, in recent years. I've discovered that domestic audiences are becoming more discerning and expect good stories," says Chen.
Actors Wang Baoqiang (front) and Liu Haoran (right) reprise their detective duo characters in the new movie.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Citing the sci-fi hit The Wandering Earth as an example, which shattered the myth that assumed that Chinese filmmakers did not have the means to create successful sci-fi works, Chen explains the epic featuring over 2,000 special-effects shots made him realize that, "when a film is pursuing excellence in every aspect, audiences will like it and don't care which genre it belongs to".
"Besides, a film should have its own 'social attribute', which means people who have already watched previous works of the franchise will talk about it with their friends and family, making theatergoing one of their top social activities during the holidays," says Chen.
Reprising actors Wang and Liu as detectives Tang Ren and Qin Feng, the new sequel casts several Japanese stars, including Tomokazu Miura and Honami Suzuki, respectively known to Chinese fans for the runaway TV series Akai Giwaku, which was screened in Japan in 1975 but imported to China in 1984, and the 1991 TV series Tokyo Love Story.
"I hope audiences of all ages can find familiar elements that were popular in their favorite eras. Fans of Japanese detective novels will also be able to see some of their favorite writers appear in the film," says Chen.
At the invitation of a renowned Japanese detective, played by Satoshi Tsumabuki, the upcoming tale recounts the Chinese detective duo's latest adventure in Tokyo as they try to solve a mysterious murder case, which could earn them a bonus of up to 1 billion Japanese yen ($9.1 million).
Growing up reading books about Chinese culture and history, Chen says the names of the two protagonists were inspired by his childhood education.
Japanese actor Tomokazu Miura also joins the cast.[Photo provided to China Daily]
He says Tang and Qin, the surnames of the two lead characters, respectively, symbolize the two eponymous Tang (618-907) and Qin (221-206 BC) dynasties, which were both spectacular chapters in the history of the Chinese civilization.
With a bigger budget than the previous two outings, the latest installment of the franchise used Imax cameras in the filming, making it only the fourth film entirely shot using one of the most advanced equipments in the world.
Mainly filmed in the tourist-friendly areas of Tokyo, such as Akihabara, Shibuya and Shinjuku, the film also recruited hundreds of local extras to shoot several difficult scenes.
Shooting in Japan lasted for more than 70 days, almost double the time spent filming in New York for the second installment.
Now sharing the Detective Chinatown copyright with its principal financer Wanda Media, Chen says he hopes the franchise will shape its own "cinematic detective universe "rather like Marvel's superhero franchise, and will help to popularize Chinese culture around the world.
