TVB gives another hit series the movie treatment

[Photo provided to China Daily]

"But despite what we heard about the local situation, the filming went without a hitch," he adds.

Referring to the latest "IP" fad, which is about bankable content with wide public recognition, Boon says the story can be developed into big IP content and then turned into a franchise.

However, despite what Hong Kong TV producers wish for, such series-adapted movies often fail to do well in the mainland market.

Triumph in the Skies raked in average box-office returns of 156 million yuan ($23.4 million) during last year's Spring Festival holiday, one of China's most lucrative movie-screening seasons. The movie was widely criticized for its storyline and characters.

Return of the Cuckoo, which grossed just 42.6 million yuan, was also for its storyline, which is about the protagonist being diagnosed with cancer and being reunited with a lover.

While it is common now for Hong Kong filmmakers to do well in the mainland market, it seems their fellow TV producers are not doing so well.

Commenting on their plight, Yu Ruoran, a Beijing-based critic, says: "Hong Kong TV series were very influential in the mainland in the 1980s and '90s, but have lost some sheen recent years.

"So even with highly rated TV series, they might not be as well-known as some Mandarin series made by mainland producers," she says.