HK release soars to top of national box office

Cesium Fallout, a disaster film starring icons Andy Lau and Bai Yu, overtook Hollywood blockbuster Venom: The Last Dance to become the country's new box-office champion on Monday.

As of Nov 4, the feature directed by Anthony Pun has grossed around 90 million yuan ($12.7 million) since its debut on Friday, according to the movie information live tracer, Beacon.

Set in Hong Kong, it follows two parallel storylines about teams of specialists and firefighters as they try to prevent a doomsday disaster following an accident that leads to the release of Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope.

During the film's Beijing premiere last week, executive producer Bill Kong, revealed that his inspiration for the film stemmed from reports about the illegal transshipment of waste from other countries.

He consulted environmental experts, who disclosed that some foreign companies previously dumped electronic waste overseas to reduce recycling expenses, with a portion being directed to Hong Kong.

He emphasized the danger posed by electronic waste, highlighting the potential environmental harm if the substances they contain leached into the soil, contaminating water sources, and expressed the hope that the film would increase public awareness of the issue.