BEIJING, Oct. 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Feature films produced and distributed by Bona Film Group Limited were clear audience favorites in China during the summer of 2014, taking 3 of the top 14 spots in box office gross revenues in the May through August period, according to figures from Box Office Mojo, an IMDB Company.
The Continent was the Company's summer box office leader at RMB613.4 million (US$100.1 million), which placed it fourth in China's overall summer box office gross, following its release on July 24th. Also ranking high on the audience list were The White Haired Witch with RMB379.3 million (US$61.9 million) in box office gross, and Overheard 3 at RMB303.3 million (US$49.5 million).
"We are delighted with the overwhelming box office success of these three films," said Bona founder, Chairman and CEO, Mr. Yu Dong. "The summer of 2014 was a historic success for Bona, as our film slate has underscored our ability to reach a wider movie-going audience than ever before. In addition, we continue to leverage our 'new director, new story' strategy in our pipeline of films, and implement innovative online and new media marketing strategies. This was demonstrated in the success of The Continent, with total clicks for the film's trailer exceeding 20 million on video websites, and with total trailer viewership of almost 20 million as of the end of August, breaking several records. Similarly, leading up to the release of Overheard 3 we created online and off-line attention by producing several promotional videos and utilizing new media broadcasting platforms as part of our strategic cooperation with Youku Tudou, the largest website platform for video in China."
The Continent, the directorial debut of Han Han, the best-selling writer, professional rally racer, singer-lyricist, and one of China's most popular bloggers, is a road trip comedy movie that tells the story of three young men yearning for their ideals in life. This film resonated with contemporary China audiences, whose demographics are skewing towards the post-1980s and 1990s generations that are hungry for refreshing local stories and characters.
The White-Haired Witch, a 3D epic drama directed by Jacob Cheung and starring Bingbing Fan and Xiaoming Huang, is the first Wuxia genre film developed with industry leading audio and video formats that have been distributed theatrically in China. This film highlights Bona's capability to achieve the highest level of quality in producing custom action films in China.
Overheard 3, co-directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong and starring Sean Lau, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu and Zhou Xun, has achieved the highest-grossing box office performance of the Overheard franchise. This installment of the series explores the inside story of Hong Kong's real estate business, an attention-grabbing topic that's seldom explored in Chinese cinema.
In addition, Bona is set to release three films in the fourth quarter of 2014, including Blue Sky Bone, The Dead End, and the highly anticipated The Taking of Tiger Mountain. Shot by Tsui Hark in cutting-edge 3D technology, The Taking of Tiger Mountain tells one of the most well known Chinese stories of the revolutionary period from a modern perspective.