"Mermaid" earned $40.7 million on opening day — not bad compared to "Deadpool"'s $47.3 million in its opening day on Feb. 12, though "Deadpool" has slowed relative to "Mermaid"'s first week, and has "only" earned $163.8 million in its first five days.

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The sales, bolstered by strong showings over the Chinese New Year holiday and Valentine's Day, say much about the incredible growth of China's movie market — and Chow's enduring appeal.

China has long been considered the future of the film business. Over the last decade, the number of cinemas has increased an estimated 800 percent. The country is now the second biggest film market by revenue and is projected to be the biggest soon.

That's got Hollywood interested. Though China limits the number of foreign movies that can screen domestically each year, U.S. studios have found ways to cash in, brokering deals and working on co-productions. Understanding what draws Chinese audiences — and will get a pass from the censors — is key.

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Chow is known for his use of mo lei tau — or "nonsensical" — comedy, a very Hong Kong brand of humor that is deliberately irreverent, idiosyncratic and ridiculous. It's a hit with Chinese moviegoers — and Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" from 2004 became something of a cult classic in the U.S.

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The combination of a Chow film and a national holiday worked. In China, the New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is about going home, seeing family, remembering the good old days. Chow's comedies are considered classics — and are clearly still a draw.

On Monday, at a 3 p.m. showing in Beijing's trendy Sanlitun neighborhood, a crowd of expensively groomed young people paid 130 RMB, or about $20, to watch the film in 3D.

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After an advertisement for Jeep — "your first Jeep, coming soon" — and a notice from China's censorship board, the movie got underway — and kept the audience chuckling throughout.

Chow tells a story that is both fantastical and familiar. The male lead, Liu Xuan (Deng Chao), is a ruthless property developer with a penchant for fast cars and a writhing caterpillar of a mustache. He has billions of dollars, obsequious assistants and a nefarious plan to take over the world.

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Liu and his hot-but-evil business associate, Ruolan (Kitty Zhang), want to reclaim land off the coast to they can turn sea sludge into gold, but they first must kill everything in the water. Sorry, dolphins.

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Enter a plucky band of mer-people. Octopus (Show Luo), hatches a plan to send the long-suffering local beauty, Shan (Lin Yun), to seduce, then slay, Liu. Shan waddles on to dry land and into Liu's cold, dark, heart, giving him a chance to change his old ways.

"Mermaid"'s unsubtle environmental messaging might feel a little earnest to a mainstream U.S. audience. We see mer-kids with open sores and documentary-style footage of a dolphin slaughter. "Humans are evil," warns a wise, winkled old mermaid.

For audiences accustomed to tales of rampant corruption, forced relocation and reckless pollution — all common in China — the apocalyptic tone may feel like less of a stretch.

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Chow lightens the mood with his signature brand of salty, slapstick humor. People fall over, bang their heads, barf. There are raunchy puns and a some punchy one-liners.

In one scene, Octopus, who is disguised as a chef, watches helplessly as his tentacles get put through a meat-grinder, tenderized and cut into bits of sashimi — to feed the rich.

Dark? Definitely. And the audience ate it up.