 A movie that cost less than 5 million US dollars to make, has raked in over 130 million dollars in just two weeks since its debut in China. The low-budget Chinese comedy "Lost in Thailand" has not only been a box office hit but is also driving a throng of Chinese tourists to Thailand. A win-win black horse for movie makers and travel agencies, the comedy "Lost in Thailand" broke box office records and are luring Chinese tourists to the ancient kingdom. "I want to go to Thailand. I think the scenery is great... the scenery of summer, you don’t feel winter there." "I have a lot of feelings for Thailand. I would go there for my [w]honeymoon[/w]. " The movie tells the story of two rival managers competing to find their company’s biggest boss in Thailand for a contract, and naturally, making fools of them in the process. Since its debut, places shown in the movie have become hot spots for Chinese tourists. In December alone, up to 10 thousand people signed up for Thailand-bound trips, [w]triple[/w] the number last year. Local five star hotels are already filled up. Qi Jing, Tour Operation, Jiangxi Asia Int’l Travel Agency, said, "Sign ups have exploded during new year’s time. A lot of phone calls every day, we can barely handle them." The comedy’s success however, has left a heavily-funded [w]blockbuster[/w] trailing behind. Renowned Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s "Back to 1942" focuses on the drought in that year, which killed three million people in central Henan Province. The movie cost almost seven times that of "Lost in Thailand", but has so far just earned a little over half of its rival. Critics say young people in big cities live under huge pressures, and a little light-hearted fun is sometimes all they want. One blogger posted online, "Lost in Thailand gives us a reason to laugh. It’s plain and simple. We need to laugh and take it easy". And taking it easy may be all Chinese white collars need to escape the year-end pressures. |
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