A sci-fi movie based on a classic Chinese novel is set to be released later this year.

Since its debut over a year ago, the English version of The Three-Body Problem written by Liu Cixin, has sold over 110,000 copies across the globe, its English copyright holder revealed on Wednesday.

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According to China Educational Publications Import and Export Corporation executive Li Yun, The Three-Body Problem, named winner of the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel and nominated for the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel, has garnered over $2 million. It is the first installment of the Remembrance of Earth's Past series; of note, Chinese readers usually refer to the entire series by its first novel.

The story was translated by Chinese-American Ken Liu and was published by Tor Book in November 2014. Its second installment The Dark Forest was released in the United States in August last year, while the third part of the series Death's End is scheduled to be out this August.

Set during the Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong, the story begins after a race of alien decided to invade our planet after the Chinese government secretly sent a signal into space.

In China, more than 1 million copies were sold, and Liu notably became the first writer to win the Hugo Award, described as "the best known literary award for science fiction writing."

The bestselling sensation is China's soon-to-be blockbuster with its scheduled film release this July. The film is directed by Panpan Zhang and stars Zhang Jingchu and Feng Shaofeng.  The CNY 200 million yuan movie began shooting in March last year. 

The Three-Body Problem is also Mark Zuckerberg's 20th pick as part of his 2015 New Year's resolution to read an important book every two weeks and discuss it with the online Facebook community. In his personal page, he wrote that the first part of the series is a "fun break from all the economics and social science books I've read recently."

TagsThe Three-Body Problem, Hugo Award, Liu Cixin, Ken Liu, Remembrance of Earth's Past