With the Earth on a collision course with Jupiter, humanity has one last hope of survival — a selfless team of Chinese astronauts, or so China’s first ever domestically made science-fiction blockbuster would have us believe.
The Wandering Earth’s release next week during the lunar new year, a peak box office period in China, coincides with the opening of the country’s first sci-fi comedy Crazy Alien. The leap into sci-fi reflects Chinese filmmakers’ growing budgets and confidence to tackle topics previously monopolised by Hollywood.
“Sci-fi is the pinnacle of the industry,” said Frant Gwo, director of The Wandering Earth, which has a reported budget of Rmb320m ($48.5m). Viewing Terminator 2 in the 1990s “planted a seed in my heart, and I dreamt of making science-fiction”, he added.