During the 8 years of production, director Tian Xiaopeng had to borrow money from his wife, parents and even in-laws to finance the movie due to the extreme shortage of funds. As the production progressed, the movie received support from a number of other companies.
Finally, the production of the film was completed by October Animation Workshop, together with Dachan Sunshine, Chengdu Skyfire Technology Co. and Mammoth Animation***, and produced by Hengdian Film and Television, Sky City, Yancheng October, and Microfilm Times, together with GaoLu Animation, GongZi Brothers, Century Dragon, Shandong Film and Television, Dongtai Longxing ShengShi, Huai'an Xiyou Industry, and Yongkang YiHo***. The film's distribution is carried out by Aggregate Film Union in conjunction with Hengdian Film and TV, Microfilm Era and Fountain Entertainment, which is responsible for the film's overseas distribution.
The film was basically completed in early 2015, and was initially scheduled for release on February 6th. At that point, Tian Xiaopeng suggested that he could do better if given more time and financial support. At the same time, the State Film Bureau director Zhang Hongsen, deputy director Mao Yu and other leaders watched the dailies sent for review, the production level of this domestic animated film is pleased, suggesting that the production and distribution can also be done better, so the film decided to delay the release of the film to the summer.
As the world's first 3D animated film on the subject of Journey to the West, the film set a record for the highest overseas sales of Chinese animated films in Cannes, and became the first animated film to be shortlisted for the Media Awards in the 12 years since its establishment at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2015. On the eve of the film's release, nearly 100 stars publicly voiced their support for it; its scale and momentum were so large that it had never happened in the history of Chinese animation.
The film was officially released on July 10, 2015, and on the first day of its release, the film rate was only 7.80%, reaping a box office of 17.956 million yuan. On the third day of release (July 13), the film broke through the box office of 100 million yuan with only about 13% of the ranking rate, realizing a reverse. On the evening of July 16, the film's box office exceeded the 300 million mark, surpassing the early 2015 release of The Bear's Snowy Mountain and the Bear Wind (total box office of 295 million). At 16:00 on July 25, the film with 620 million yuan box office, successfully "topped" China's animated film box office champion. Previously, the Hollywood animated film "Kung Fu Panda 2" 617 million yuan of box office crown maintained for four years. On August 5, the film's distributor issued a key extension notice for the film, which pushed back the film's release from August 9 to September 9, as originally scheduled. The movie eventually collected 956 million yuan at the box office, ranking seventh in Chinese-language film history.
The film was screened at Tokyo's Nihonbashi Cinema on March 19, 2016 as a nominee for feature-length work in the competition section of the Tokyo International Anime Festival and is slated for a 2017 all-Japan release. The film is distributed in Japan by Tomoyo.