Monkey King: Hero Is Back has just become the highest grossing Chinese animated film in history, earning 620 million yuan ($99.8 million) as of 26 July.
The animated film, helmed by first-time director Tian Xiaopeng, surpassed Kung Fu Panda 2, which in 2011 grossed 617 million yuan ($99.3 million) in China, and held the mantle of being the most successful animated film in Chinese theaters since 4 years.
The film took Tian and his team eight years to finish. It was made on a budget of $16 million, with $113,000 raised through a government-run crowdfunding program called Internet Plus. However, filmmakers like Tian fear that, without the proper investment in Chinese animation, Monkey King: Hero Is Back might just be seen as a fluke.
China currently has the largest animation industry in the world, producing 260,000 minutes of animated footage per year, with only about a third actually making it on screen. In comparison, Japan, in second place, produces half as many minutes in a year.
Monkey King, a 3D animated adaption of the classical epic Journey to the West, opened in mainland China on 10 July.
