(Variety) Major media companies including Wanda Media, Tencent Pictures, Joy Pictures and IM Global were on hand Sunday in Cannes to give a glitzy launch to “One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes 2,” a new Chinese animation film.
The sequel is the follow up to a 2014 film, which earned $17 million at the mainland Chinese box office.
“The humor of our movie all comes from everyday situations,” said co-directors, Lu Hengyu and Li Shujie. “The second film will be crazier and funnier.” “Bad Jokes 2” is structured as a prequel, adds new characters and upgrades the production design.
“Bad Jokes” is based on an original Chinese property which transitioned from comic books developed at the U17 company, before moving to a web series which earned 1.5 billion views, and the first feature in 2014.
The film is co-produced by Toonmax Media, Wanda Media, Alpha Pictures, Tencent Pictures, Joy Pictures, Chengdu Square Culture and Tianjin Xianshan Culture. The film will be released in China on August 18, 2017.
While the event was held in Cannes, amid the world’s largest film rights market, it was largely aimed at Chinese consumer media and the film’s theatrical launch. Nevertheless French setting elevates the profile of the film’s campaign beyond the ordinary. “Jokes 2” releases in China on Aug. 18, 2017.
The humor is very Chinese, but we are confident that it has international appeal,” said Howard Chen, VP of Tencent Pictures. “In fact, after an internal screening the other day we are worried that so much laughing will be tiring for audiences.” Overseas sales are handled by IM Global.
Source: Variety by Patrick Frater