Battling for box-office gold

Actor and filmmaker Xu Zheng, who's best known for his blockbuster Lost franchise, is also entering the fiercely competitive market with two widely anticipated comedies: Lost in Russia and Adoring.

As the third installment of the Lost series, Lost in Russia-which sees Xu team up with actress Yuan Quan and actor Shen Teng-turns to the theme of family tensions, recounting the story of a businessman trying to patch up his relationship with his mother on a train trip to Russia. The movie will be released on Jan 25.

With Xu serving as the executive producer, the pet-themed film Adoring, which will debut on Dec 31, has gained a lot of attention thanks to its unlikely "stars"-a pig, and several cats and dogs.

The film consists of six short stories, depicting actors of different ages re-examining their lives accompanied by their beloved pets. Its stellar cast includes Wu Lei, Zhang Zifeng, Wallace Chung, Yang Zishan, Zhong Chuxi and William Chan.

An anticipated sequel set to open on the first day of Spring Festival, Detective Chinatown 3 reprises the roles played by actors Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran and Tsumabuki Satoshi, as well as fresh faces like Thai action star Tony Jaa.

Following the protagonist detectives' adventures in Bangkok and New York depicted in the first and second installments, the new film is set in Tokyo and shot using Alexa Imax cameras, ensuring high-standard visual quality.