By earning 53 million yuan ($8.48 million) at the box office on its debut day and almost 130 million yuan in three days, Lost in Thailand is definitely a black horse among its peers.

As this was actor Xu Zheng's first time to direct a film, and it faced strong competition from Life of Pi, Back to 1942, CZ12 and The Last Tycoon, all of which feature world-renowned directors or stars, the situation looked bleak for Lost in Thailand. Still, the sole comedy in the line-up must have been an appealing contrast to moviegoers when it premiered last Thursday.

Simple story

You don't need a PhD. to enjoy Lost in Thailand.

After businessman Xu Lang (Xu Zheng) develops a new product to improve fuel efficiency, he and his old college buddy Gao Bo (Huang Bo) have different ideas about how to sell it. To win the approval of Zhou Yang, the man who owns the largest share, both travel to Thailand, hoping to reach Zhou first and get approval. On the way, Xu meets Wang Bao (Wang Baoqiang), a man who makes fried dough cakes.

In the following days with Wang, Xu comes across a number of troubles, making him believe Wang is bad luck. But it is Wang, a simple-minded man, who helps Xu realize there are many more important things in life besides business.

Normally, when a film is over, the lights come up and people rush to the exits paying little attention to the end credits, but at a screening of Lost in Thailand last Friday afternoon, most of the audience went back to their seats upon noticing there was some behind-the-scenes footage at the very end.

"Lost in Thailand is the best domestic comedy since Crazy Stone - few superfluous words and well-set laughing points. At the same time, it maintains a certain level of suspense that pushes the plot forward," movie critic Yu Xin commented.

"It's really funny, and I laughed all the way from the beginning to the end," an IT engineer surnamed Song told the Global Times. "When I watched it, I could release some of my pressure from life."

A thirsty market

Though Lost in Thailand received very good reviews, some moviegoers pointed out that compared with its 2010 predecessor Lost on Journey, which also starred Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang and had a similar theme, Lost in Thailand seems to be less interesting and copied some parts.

For example, the characters that Xu and Wang play are similar - one is a successful businessman that has lost real happiness in life, while the other is a grassroots commoner who seems silly but is honest. Also in both movies, the two meet on a plane then share a hotel room for a night.

"[In fact] if we look back, we will clearly see Lost on Journey far exceeds Lost in Thailand for the former one wisely presented the different living situations of different classes in China with Spring Festival travel while the theme of the latter [is plain]," movie critic Xuan Xihao wrote in a report on mtime.com. 

But he also noted that one of the reasons for the success of Lost in Thailand is - timing.

Over the past few months, a number of blockbusters from Hollywood and China have come out, but the number of comedies, especially good quality films that grassroots folks can relate to, is limited. Even the New Year periods of the recent few years, a time most people like to enjoy something cheerful, have seen few impressive comedies.

"Common audiences are badly in need of quality comedies," Xuan said, adding that while the number of domestic comedies is not small, few are of good quality.

"Feng Xiaogang (a director famous for his Beijing-flavored comedies) has not brought the audiences a comedy for two years. He, instead of making people laugh, now makes audiences sink into sadness [with Back to 1942]," he wrote. "Even On His Majesty's Secret Service (2009) made over 100 million yuan at the box office. It shows clearly how badly we lack comedies."

Pick up the tradition

In scriptwriter Wang Mu's eyes, Lost in Thailand is just a work that "picks up the tradition of realistic comedy."

In a review he wrote for the Beijing News, Wang pointed out that comedies that are close to reality, like the 1979 work Qiao Zhe Yi Jia Zi (What a Family) directed by mainland director Wang Haowei, were well accepted by the domestic audience, but the tradition was short-lived.

"Before movies of this type had matured," Wang explained, "the investment became the dominant power of movie [production]," and so, costly blockbusters are what moviemakers look for now.

"The failure of Guns and Roses reminds creators that a comedy needs to have roots in real life. A legendary figure or a history of growing to maturity can hardly be contained in a comedy," he wrote, explaining that we should not ask a comedy to have the same responsibility as other genres, like imparting audiences with knowledge or provoking deep thought.

Instead of analyzing what made Lost in Thailand popular among audiences, Zhu Yuming, general manager of China 3D Digital Entertainment, sees the meaning behind the success of the movie. In his blog Zhu pointed out that the success of Lost in Thailand - a work with an investment of only 20 million yuan - may stimulate more producers and investors to turn to small or mid-budget movies and pay more attention to quality.

Also, Zhu said what impressed him a lot was not Xu Zheng's talent in directing, but his gift for marketing.

"A few months ago, when Lost in Thailand released its first trailer, several friends of mine and I looked well on its future market," Zhu wrote. "In just several minutes, we saw a work with clear presentation about its type and it gave out the right flavor," adding, "Xu knows much better than many publicity companies what he wants to sell and how to sell it. It's [a skill] very much worth learning."