The event film from China returns to French screens this summer

The historical-mythological fresco “Creation of the Gods” is being released in theaters on Wednesday. A true phenomenon in China, the film was released on the sly in France in February.

The saga Creation of the Gods is somewhat considered as The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, Chinese version. We are in the middle of the Shang dynasty, approximately between 1500 and 1000 BC, and we follow the rise to power of Crown Prince Yi Shou, whose royal family was massacred by a woman possessed by the spirit of a fox.

The pretext for bloody battles, an incredible debauchery of means, extras and other special effects, which fortunately do not result in a digital mush like some recent Marvels, but a real visual feat. “It’s linked to the personality of the directorsays Amel Lacombe, who heads Eurozoom, the film’s distributor in France. He also has an artistic background. They combined digital special effects and traditional special effects.”

“Despite the complexity of the characters, there are enough threads to keep you interested from start to finish. It’s ‘grand spectacle’ enough to keep you hooked.”

Amel Lacombe

to franceinfo

Directed by Wu Ershan, this first part of a trilogy that cost a whopping $440 million did very well in China and English-speaking countries in 2023, bringing in $372 million, including $60 million in China. A real phenomenon driven by a young audience, fond of oriental culture, but which had only been entitled to two days of event exploitation in our country in February, for 15,000 admissions.

“We decided to treat this film like a normal film, specifies Amel Lacombe. That is to say, with a real theatrical release, with several screenings every day over a number of weeks that we hope will be as long as possible. And we also invested in the French version, because we realized in the comments that the film really had a mainstream side. To reach this audience, we also have to be able to offer this show in a dubbed version.”

The second chapter of Creation of the Godswhich was supposed to be released this summer in China, has been postponed for technical reasons.