There are reports claiming that the producers of "Crazy Rich Asians" are already setting up plans to shoot the film's sequel. What is even more interesting about this is that the producers are planning to shoot in China.
"Crazy Rich Asians" has been a phenomenal success around the globe. However, the film has yet to be released in China with the soonest date pegged to be around the end of November.
SK Global President and the film's producer John Pennoti said that they are targeting to shoot "China Rich Girlfriend," the film's sequel, in Shanghai. Mr. Penotti confirmed this on Monday at the Chinese American Film Festival's Co-Production Summit which was held in Los Angeles.
"Crazy Rich Asians" and its sequel, "China Rich Girlfriend," are based on the novels of Kevin Kwan. The sequel picks up two years after the events of "Crazy Rich Asians" and most of its plot revolves around in China.
Mr. Penotti said that they are still hazy as to whether the producers will bill "China Rich Girlfriend" as a joint production from China and the United States. He confirmed that this was attempted during the production of "Crazy Rich Asians" but they were not successfully adding that they are not good when it comes to doing co-productions.
Warner Bros. Pictures released and presented "Crazy Rich Asians." However, the film was a joint production of SK Global, Color Force, Starlight Culture, Electric Somewhere, and Ivanhoe Pictures.
The film was released in North America in August to massive success and was eventually released in most Asian territories in subsequent months. As of this writing, the film has grossed $232 million, including more than $170 million earned from North American screens.
This massive box office success has a great potential to grow since the film has yet to reach China where hype has been building for quite a while now. China is widely considered to be one of the biggest film markets in the world. Securing a China release will no doubt propel the film's overall revenue even higher.
After a lengthy approval process from Chinese film censors, "Crazy Rich Asians" finally got the green light to be screened in China. The film is expected to hit Chinese theatres on Nov. 30. According to Mr. Penotti, Chinese censors, which are considered to be one of the strictest in the world, did not request any cuts to the original film.
