'Creation of the Gods' is the first installment in an ambitious 'Fengshen trilogy,' based on an ancient Chinese classic 'Investiture of the Gods.'
Director Wuershan reportedly came up with the idea after watching 'The Fellowship of the Ring' in 2001, and publicly declared his intention to make his trilogy in 2012.
Now, having proved itself as a major box office juggernaut, 'Creation of the Gods' is now also a critical success, after taking home the Best Feature Film, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography prizes at China's biggest film awards.
With the trilogy’s reported budget of $412 million USD, the first installment initially struggled to recoup its investment.
Soon though, word-of-mouth praise eventually propelled it to over $362 million USD at the Chinese box office, securing its spot among the top-grossing films of 2023.
"What this represents for Chinese film, is actually more important than the film itself," reads one top review on Douban, a major Chinese film review platform similar to IMDb.