Astro Boy, an originally Japanese animated figure which entertained Chinese TV audience in the early 1980s, is making a comeback to the country on Thursday.

But this time, it will be shown in cinemas.

"We will distribute about 1,200 prints," said Li Beidi, a communication official with Enlight Pictures Limited in Beijing which has invested in the film and is responsible for its distribution in the Chinese mainland cinemas.

The cartoon film was mainly produced by IMAGI Crystal Limited in Hong Kong. Xu Jiao, a 12-year-old girl who starred in Stephen Chow's comedy CJ7, is the dubber of Astro Boy for the mainland version.

"We expect the box office to hit 150 million yuan (21 million U.S.dollars) on the Chinese mainland alone," said Li.

Astro Boy is a Japanese manga series published in 1952 and was later turned into a television program in Japan in 1963. The story tells of the adventures of a fictional robot named Astro Boy.