A still image of Dead Pigs.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Dead Pigs, the directorial debut of Cathy Yan -- the first Asian female director to helm a DC superhero film -- opened across Chinese mainland on Jan 25, but its market prospect seems uncertain.

Presales box office gross traced by online ticketing service Maoyan shows that the film has earned just 123,000 yuan ($18,127) as far of Thursday, seating it on the 15th spot on the Friday charts.

Backed by renowned arthouse filmmaker Jia Zhangke as the executive producer and starring actresses Vivian Wu, Li Meng and actor Mason Lee, director Ang Lee's son, Dead Pigs is recommended by most critics as a should-not-miss tale with an in-depth examination of modern China.