Produced since 2020 and taking 3 years to release, the film adaptation of Journey to the West has left viewers in disappointment. The film remake is based on the classic novel Journey to the West, yet it has been poorly received, falling far short of the 1986 television adaptation and other film versions by Wu Cheng’en.
After just one day of release, Journey to the West garnered a mere 176 Chinese Yuan (over 600,000 VND) and “died” with a total of 3,376 Yuan (11.5 million VND) after the first weekend. Given the production costs reaching up to 30 million Yuan, this is undoubtedly the weakest film adaptation of the year in the vast Chinese film industry.
According to Baidu, Journey to the West 2023 adopts a completely different storytelling approach compared to previous adaptations. The film essentially focuses on the aftermath of Sun Wukong, now known as Sun Qiao Sheng, alongside his brother Jin Qiao Bang as they roam the world 1,000 years after Sun Wukong’s rebellion against the Heavenly Court, exploring the conflicts of the three realms.
One of the details that left viewers puzzled was Sun Qiao Sheng’s battle against the Buddhist demon, who was depicted as a new deity. Additionally, the dull content and the performance of the cast in Journey to the West also led to audience frustration. The main character was noted to have a “dull” persona, resembling someone who could not escape the image of the character in the classic Journey to the West.
Thus, Journey to the West has not been promoted effectively, quietly released without much marketing. The extremely poor marketing strategies are major factors contributing to the film’s low revenue, if not the worst in this year. Currently, Sohu predicts that the film will continue to struggle and may “die” under another remake of Journey to the West that is likely to exceed the quality of this one.
Source: Sohu
