Actors (from left) Wang Baoqiang, Xiao Yang and Liu Haoran promote the upcoming action comedy Detective Chinatown 2. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The makers of the upcoming action comedy sequel Detective Chinatown 2 held a promotional event in Beijing on Feb 8.

The film about a serial killer in New York is a sequel of the 2016 low-budget movie Detective Chinatown — which earned more than 800 million yuan ($126.5 million), or around 10 times of its cost.

Chen Sicheng, the director of the franchise, says he is a diehard fan of detective novels.

Meanwhile, the film has new characters played by Xiao Yang, known for the hit romance Some Like it Hot, and Chinese-Australian actress Natasha Lou Bordizzo, who shot to fame with the martial arts film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2: The Green Destiny.

The new Detective Chinatown movie was shot around New York locations like Times Square, Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, the New York Public Library and Grand Central Terminal.

The movie will open across the Chinese mainland on the first day of the Chinese New Year on Feb 16.

Separately, Chen says the next version of the Detective Chinatown franchise will be set in Tokyo and see the return of veteran actor Pan Yueming, known for the hit series Day and Night, the first online drama purchased by Netflix.