Big plans for tiny times

From left: Cheney Chen, Amber Kuo and Ko Chen-tung star in the movie. [Photo/China Daily]

Guo also has some diehard supporters. Zhou's criticism of the film drew much rebuke from Guo's fans on social media.

When the film's premiere was held in a hotel, many of the young women who worked at the hotel abandoned their positions to join crowds of fans trying to take pictures of Guo.

Though teenage girls make up the majority of viewers, they are not the only ones who will watch the movie.

Niu Weikun, 26, a Beijing-based office worker, says she was a fan of the original novels in high school, and is now hooked on the big-screen adaptations. "The movies remind me of my time with old friends," she says.

"Rich families' lifestyles are common in Chinese movies today. It might be an overstatement it to say that the lavish lifestyles depicted will have a negative influence on teenage girls.

"Fine clothes will make the movies look beautiful. That's all."

Nevertheless, Niu says she would rather watch the third installment of the series later when it is available online because paying to go to the cinema is more worthwhile when going to see a film with special visual effects.

"It's a story about youth, but we expect the audience to be of all ages because all people must have some memory of their younger years," says Li Li, the chief producer of the movie.

"We want to find the emotional resonance."

Though the four young women' adventures continue in the same vein as the first two films, there are some surprises in Tiny Times 3, which mixes romance with a thriller.