Gambling with an Asian plot

The luxury houses featured in the film, with exquisite carvings on wooden doors represent a traditional architecture aesthetic rooted in ancient China.

The movie also features a string of typical Chinese activities-from making dumplings to playing mahjong.

In the film adapted from Singaporean American writer Kevin Kwan's 2013 best-selling novel of the same title, Rachel Chu, an economics professor from New York University, accepts an invitation from her boyfriend Nick Young to accompany him to Singapore to attend his best friend's wedding ceremony.

But the trip soon turns into a "battle", as Nick is actually the most fancied heir of one of Singapore's wealthiest families.

To keep him, the young woman from a Chinese immigrant family has to face off with Nick's controlling mother Eleanor and a bunch of his super-rich acquaintances who consider her a gold-digger.

Except for Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, who plays Eleanor, the rest of the cast-including the two lead actors-are all comparatively unknown to Chinese moviegoers.

Constance Wu, best known for the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat, plays Chu while British Malaysian actor Henry Golding plays Nick.

For Yeoh, who recently toured Beijing to promote the film with director Jon M. Chu and producer John Penotti, the film is a milestone as she says that Asian actors have been fighting inequality in Hollywood for decades.

She sees the success of Crazy Rich Asians as opening the door a bit wider, adding: "To have a token Asian face in a (Hollywood) movie is not enough. We are not satisfied with that. We want our stories to be told as well."