Comedy soars as box-office champion

Consecutively for three days since the start of 2024, Johnny Keep Walking!, a satirical comedy, has secured the top position on the country's box-office charts, resonating with a wide young viewership due to its poignant exposure of workplace problems.

As of Jan 3, the movie has grossed over 340 million yuan ($47.6 million) since its domestic release on Dec 29.

Marked as the third feature-length directorial effort of filmmaker Dong Ruinian, who is also a renowned scriptwriter, the film fictionalizes the story of a factory fitter who is mistakenly transferred to the commercial group's headquarters during downsizing. Despite the human resource manager's desperate attempts to hide his error, the fitter surprisingly receives a series of promotions and unexpectedly unravels a corruption case involving a high-ranking executive.

Dong reveals that he conceived the script around five years ago and conducted extensive research on some internet companies, where he discovered "absurd and ridiculous occurrences" in workplaces to give him lots of inspiration.

With the story resonating with many young professionals due to its themes addressing various office problems such as complex interpersonal relationship, excessive overtime, and executive conflicts, the film has received a rating of 8.1 points out of 10 on Douban, one of the country's most popular review sites.