(Yicai Global) April 24 —  Hit Chinese science fiction flick The Wandering Earth II has taken more than CNY100 million (USD14.5 million) at the box office in 39 other countries and regions since its January release, according to the chairman of movie distributor China Film Group. 

The overseas distribution of The Wandering Earth II did not involve overseas Chinese bodies or marketing firms as used before for similar films, but professional foreign companies were hired for its release, The Paper reported yesterday, citing Fu Ruoqing, who is also the general manager of China Film, as saying at an industry forum.

“The Wandering Earth II conformed to our estimation and judgment over the impact and effect from its overseas release,” Fu noted. “What we didn’t expect was the box office performance in the first week, especially the feedback and market returns in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, which are mature, booming movie markets that are relatively indifferent to films in other languages, especially in Chinese.”

Beijing-based China Film is exploring further cooperation with large and professional foreign distributors, including the five largest in the United States, Fu added.

The ticket sales of the nine Chinese movies released or co-released by China Film jumped 61 percent to CNY11.9 billion (USD1.7 billion) in the three months ended March 31, equal to 85 percent of the total generated by local productions, the firm said in its first-quarter earnings report.

The Wandering Earth II has raised over CNY4 billion (USD579.9 million), making the list of China’s top 10 highest-grossing films ever.

“The third installment of The Wandering Earth series will definitely be shot,” Fu said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev