Mr. Donkey from Stage to Screen: Insights into the Film Adaptation of Drama IPs in China

In 2016, a Chinese-made comedy, Mr. Donkey (Ludeshui), was the highest-rated film on the Chinese review platform Douban, China's equivalent to IMDb, with a score of 8.3 out of 10. In contrast, in the same year, The Great Wall, a film following the Hollywood blockbuster model and built around celebrities (directed by Zhang Yimou, the celebrated "Fifth Generation" director and starring Matt Damon) scored only 4.9. The success of Mr. Donkey can be viewed as a testament to the greater maturation of the Chinese audience since the Chinese cinema market began to be opened up to foreign films in the 1990s. Although it was initially dazzled by the Hollywood blockbusters, the Chinese audience appears to be increasingly weary of them, and is now coming to prefer dramas with quality stories. With a budget of only 1.4 million dollars and lesser-known actors, Mr. Donkey grossed over $28 million at the box office and ranked the best Chinese film in 2016.