When crime pays

Zhang Luyi (right) and Wang Kai star in Alec Su's The Devotion of Suspect X. Photos provided to China Daily

Alec Su's latest film, The Devotion of Suspect X, knocked Hollywood behemoth Kong: Skull Island off the top slot in China's box-office charts on its first day. Xu Fan reports.

During the recent Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday break, a profitable time for China's movie market, Alec Su worked nonstop. The actor and singer-turned-director traveled more than 21,700 kilometers from March 22 to April 3, touring 15 cities to promote his second directorial feature, The Devotion of Suspect X.

Su, once a heartthrob on the Chinese screen, says he was "anxious" with his career shift.

But his latest film, based on Japanese author Keigo Higashino's award-winning novel of the same title, knocked Hollywood behemoth Kong: Skull Island off the top slot in China's box-office charts on its first day on March 31, according to live tracker Cbooo.cn.

The 112-minute movie, which is seen by some industry watchers as a bid by Chinese-language movies to enter overseas markets, opened in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom simultaneously on Friday, and will be released in Singapore on April 13.

Meanwhile, negotiations are on in other markets, according to Beijing-based studio Enlight Pictures, one of the key investors.

But for Su, the film means more than just box-office returns.