(Jay Chou)

Since Jay Chou's second self-directed film "The Rooftop" opened in Chinese cinemas on July 11^th, the new film, a mash-up of genres Jay Chou calls a musical action film, has become the first Chinese-language musical film to have broken 100 million yuan ($16.3 million USD) during the first week on show. So far, the box office of "The Rooftop" has surpassed "Les Misérables", which was also a musical film shown in China last year.  

Like Us on Facebook

Mr. Chou wrote and directed this fantastic film. It is full of song-and-dance elements, kungfu battles and high-speed chases. Chinese film critics speak highly of Jay Chou's new movie, and commend him as "the best director among singers and the best singer among directors". In the film, Jay Chou is a small-time but kind-hearted hoodlum who meets his love in a poster, a beautiful budding actress. When he meets with his gorgeous girl in the reality, he thinks he is saving her from a group of gangsters. But in fact the actress was just shooting scene in a movie. "The Rooftop" is funny and a little surreal.

As Jay Chou once played Kato in the Hollywood film "The Green Hornet", that funny role has impressed some American audiences. "The Rooftop" was chosen to premiere in the U.S. at the 12th New York Asian Film Festival as the ceremony's closing night presentation, which inspires Jay Chou a lot.

According to Jay Chou, the movie is a spectacle, with glittering fashions and splashy backdrops inspired by Australian director Baz Luhrmann and Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou. Mr. Chou says "The Rooftop" has blockbuster potential, with all the ingredients of a top-grossing film.

"The Rooftop" opened last week in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. It has also premiered in the U.S. on July 19^th.