Poster for Cinderella starring Lily James Photo: CFP

A scene from Jupiter Ascending Photo: CFP

While happy family reunions during the Chinese New Year have come to an end, the cheerful holiday atmosphere will linger on as a number of comedies such as Paddington are scheduled to hit theaters in March.

Action blockbusters are also an indispensable part of the month as Jupiter Ascending and Taken 3 make their way to China, while audiences looking for a more relaxing night out may find heartwarming films Cinderella, Little Big Master and Lost and Love more fitting to their tastes.

Laugh, laugh, laugh

Famous around the world for his polite nature and innocent misadventures, the bear from "darkest Peru" is making his way to theaters in China on March 5 in the family film Paddington. 

A comedy directed by British writer and director Paul King, the film stars Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville and Ben Whishaw as the voice of the star of the show Paddington Bear.

Following the plot of the children's books, the film features the adventures of Paddington Bear, a bear in an old hat and with a suitcase who comes to London in search of a new home after his home in the jungles of Peru is destroyed in an earthquake.

Moving in with the Brown family, Paddington accidently stirs up some trouble, but in the end his affectionate and happy nature cause the Browns to treat him as one of the family.

Premiering on the same day as Paddington, we have domestic comedies The Right Mistake and Lucky Star 2015, both co-productions between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong studios. 

In 2012, road trip film Lost in Thailand became the box office hit of the year in China by grossing in about 1.3 billion yuan ($207 million) in the mainland. It seems The Right Mistake is looking for similar success in theaters by following the same setup and plot: Two fun-loving buddies pal up for a journey abroad, however for this film the destination is Singapore instead of Thailand.

The film also marks former diving champion Tian Liang's film acting debut in a leading role after he rose to popularity in Where Are We Going, Dad? - a popular TV variety show. As to whether he is up to the task of carrying a film, we will just have to wait and see.

While The Right Mistake is placing its bet on new talent, Lucky Star 2015 has chosen to rely on veteran faces such as Eric Tsang and Wong Cho-lam.

Audiences familiar with Hong Kong comedic actor and director Stephen Chow may find Lucky Star 2015 a salute to Chow's film works such as A Chinese Odyssey (1994) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004) as the film mimics quite a lot elements that appear in Chow's films. 

Comedies from Hong Kong directors and actors are often highly anticipated by mainland audiences around the Spring Festival holiday period, but this time a film from Taiwan is set to offer a different dish.

Titled The Wonderful Wedding, the comedy recounts a cross-strait romance between a Beijing man and a Taiwanese woman, and how the young couple deals with the different marriage cultures between the two regions and being picked on by their elderly fathers. 

Taking action

Scheduled for March 6, 3D film Jupiter Ascending is surely the right choice for fans of sci-fi movies. Directed by the Wachowskis, Jupiter Ascending is their latest sci-fi work after The Matrix series and Cloud Atlas (2012).

The story is set in the far future and centers on an impoverished cleaning human woman named Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who is believed to be reincarnation of the late matriarch of an alien royal family and therefore the rightful inheritor of the Earth.

To take over control of the planet, the matriarch's sons hunt down Jupiter, but she is then saved by the genetically engineered soldier Caine Wise (Channing Tatum). Together with Caine, Jupiter fights to keep the Earth free from alien control.

Meanwhile, fans of Liam Neeson in China will have to wait until March 20 when his next action blockbuster, Taken 3, is scheduled to hit the big screen.

Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, the same team that wrote 2008's Taken and 2012's Taken 2, the newest film in the series wasn't as well received as previous installments after it was released in the US earlier this year.

However, despite being panned among critics, the film still managed to pull in very successful box office numbers.

Towards the end of the month, March 27 brings spy action-comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service, a film that you should be sure not to miss.

Unlike Taken 3's poor reviews, Kingsman currently holds a high 8.3/10 on imbd.com and a 88% Audience Score on movie review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Director of Kick-Ass (2010) and X-Men: First Class (2011), director Matthew Vaughn brings together the star combination of Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Sofia Boutella to tell the story of a young man who is recruited into a spy agency and assigned a mission of tracking down a global threat.

A solidly made spy film with exciting action scenes that is capable of making you laugh from beginning to end, the film is set to be a big hit in the mainland. 

Right in the heart

While action flicks are taking aim at male moviegoers, warmhearted love stories are setting their sights on female audience members.

Arriving on March 13, romance-fantasy film Cinderella is a live-action remake of the Disney animated musical of the same name.

Made for all ages, the live action version, adds only a few creative ideas to the original fairy tale plot line. However, audiences can still set their expectations high when it comes to the film's cinematography, which proves magic can come true on the big screen.

While Cinderella revels in gorgeous fantasy, two other films that are set to tug at audience heartstrings on March 20, Little Big Master and Lost and Love, take on more realistic and serious stories. The former focuses on leftover children in a kindergarten that is set to be shutdown, while the latter is about child trafficking. Both films feature popular actors, such as Louis Koo and Miriam Yeung (in Little Big Master) and Andy Lau (in Lost and Love).

Recent years have seen a number of  Chinese films focus on social issues. Often supported by big stars, these films are representative of a growing phenomenon that sees film as more than just a form of entertainment for audiences.