China's Spring Festival blockbuster Hi, Mom at a staggering box-office sum of 5.39 billion yuan ($823 million) beat the 2017 American superhero film Wonder Woman on April 6 and made Chinese film director Jia Ling overtake Patty Jenkins to be the world's highest-grossing female director for a single film.

Jia, 39, whose full name is Jia Yuling, graduated from the Beijing-based Central Academy of Drama and started her showbiz career as a crosstalk comedian. She rose to fame after appearing at the 2010 Spring Festival Gala.

Jia went on to star in numerous comedies, TV shows as well as on the big screen, cementing her status as one of China's top female comedians. In 2016, she set up Big Bowl Entertainment, and the production company's first work was the short play Hi Mom in memory of her mother, from which her movie was adapted.

Hi, Mom is Jia's maiden directorial project.