Legend of the Demon Cat

Legend of the Demon Cat
Theatrical release poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese妖貓傳
Simplified Chinese妖猫传
Literal meaningKūkai -KU-KAI- The Mystery of The Beautiful Queen
Hanyu PinyinYāomāo chuán
JyutpingJiu¹ maau¹ cyun⁴
Japanese name
Kanji空海 -KU-KAI- 美しき王妃の謎
RomanizationKūkai utsukushiki ōhi no nazo
Directed byChen Kaige
Screenplay by
  • Chen Kaige
  • Wang Hui-ling
Based onShamon kūkai tō no kuni nite oni to utage su (沙門空海唐の国にて鬼と宴す; lit.'Feast with A Demon In The Country of Shamon Kukai Tang')
by Baku Yumemakura
Produced byKao Shirley
Starring
CinematographyCao Yu
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Emperor Motion Pictures, Moonstone Entertainment (present)
  • QC Media (China)
  • Toho, Kadokawa (Japan)
  • Parkway Management (Hong Kong)
Release dates
  • 22 December 2017 (2017-12-22) (China)
  • 11 January 2018 (2018-01-11) (Hong Kong)
  • 24 February 2018 (2018-02-24) (Japan)
Running time
129 minutes
Countries
  • China
  • Japan
  • Hong Kong
Languages
  • Mandarin
  • Japanese
BudgetCN¥170 million
Box officeCN¥530 million

Legend of the Demon Cat (simplified Chinese: 妖猫传; traditional Chinese: 妖貓傳; pinyin: Yāomāo chuán) is a Chinese-Japanese fantasy mystery film directed by Chen Kaige, based on the Japanese novel series by Baku Yumemakura. The film, a surreal reimagining of the tragic romance between Emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang, stars Huang Xuan as Bai Letian and Shota Sometani as Kūkai, who form an investigative partnership to uncover the truth behind the legendary consort’s death during the An Lushan Rebellion against the Tang dynasty. It premiered in China on December 22, 2017.