Lau complimented the cast's performance, not only those in lead roles but also those who played the passengers on the plane as they dealt with the emergency.

"The cast members created an atmosphere similar to the real situation inside the plane," he adds.

It has been a busy year for Lau. Two other films, The Bravest and Line Walker 2, produced by him and released this year, made 1.69 billion yuan and 698.6 million yuan, respectively.

"It seems that I finished three films at the same time, but they just happened to be released close to each other," Lau says.

Switching his role from director to producer, Lau says the move allowed the director more space to share his own experiences.

"There's an art to communicating with different directors and I'm still learning," he adds.