Xia Yu lead stars Eng's fantastic comedy Wished. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Five years after Inseparable, director Dayyan Eng returns to his comedian roots in the new movie Wished.

The fantastic comedy starring Xia Yu and Yan Ni has raked in nearly 60 million yuan ($8.8 million) since it opened across the Chinese mainland theaters on June 29, making it one of the highest-grossing domestic titles in this summer.

During the recent tour to promote the movie, Eng, a Chinese-American filmmaker who is interested in contemporary Chinese themes, reveals he sat in theaters to observe reaction from audiences.

He says he was surprised to find audiences in small cities can resonate with the story.

Set in a metropolis, the tale narrates a salesman surprisingly finds his 19 wishes — from never to take shower, to have a "Transformer" Autobot to become a billionaire — all come true thanks to an unlikely Chinese deity.

The movie features big stars as cameos, such as Daniel Wu to play a dream idol who man ordinary man wants to be, and comedian Wang Baoqiang to voice-act a car robot.