Box office leaders rise ahead of Chinese New Year race | News

Wandering Earth 2, Full River Red and Hidden blade has been leading the Chinese New Year box office race since tickets went on sale last weekend, with stars Shen Teng, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Wu Jing looking to take it to cinemas across China.

Seven local films have been approved for release during the highly sought-after and crowded festive season, with all but one opening on January 22, the first day of the lunar new year. Since ticket sales began on Saturday (January 14), advance sales are close to $51.6 million (RMB 350 million) at press time, according to box office data from online ticketing platform Maoyan.

Advance bookings show the three front-runners to be close to each other on opening day (January 22), each taking around $8.9 million (RMB 60 million). Wandering Earth 2 follows as number one, closely followed Full River Red and Hidden Blade. With advance sales numbers constantly changing, it’s too early to tell which title will be the box office champ.

However, the big concern is that Covid-19 cases are on the rise and seem to have reached new highs following the sudden U-turn on China’s zero-Covid policy. This could affect movie theaters if audiences decide to stay home.

Regardless, Chinese New Year retains its status as one of the most sought-after release windows. Last year, during a profitable period, the box office was boosted by a patriotic war drama Battle of Changjin Lake IIwhich rose to $594.75 million (RMB 4.07 billion), becoming the highest-grossing film of 2022. The most popular movies for Chinese New Year 2021 were time travel comedies Hey Mom ($797.6 million/RMB 5.41 billion) and a crime comedy Detective Chinatown 3 ($666.77 million/RMB 4.52 billion) finished as the second and third highest grossing films of that year.

The expected prequel

In 2019 Wandering country it became China’s first sci-fi hit when it topped the Chinese New Year box office with $690.8 million (RMB 4.69 billion). Expectations are therefore high Wandering Earth 2, which is a prequel in which actor Wu Jing reprises his role as an astronaut tasked with saving humanity from destruction and reuniting with director Frank Gwoo. Andy Lau joins the cast and appears as a special scientist, while Hugo Award-winning author Liu Cixin steps up as a producer and China Film Company is again the main backer.

Among the new films, e.g. Wandering Earth 2 is at the top of the viewing list by collecting over a million clicks on the Maoyans ticket app. This unofficial data is often considered a good index of audience expectations for upcoming films. Unlike Full River Red and Hidden bladewho were given only a few weeks’ notice of their release, Wandering Earth 2 has benefited from a rare, long lead time, with its release date announced even before filming began in late 2021, which was confirmed at a high-profile press conference last November.

Early approval also facilitates distribution abroad. The film opens daily in Malaysia through Mega Films Distribution and in Singapore through Shaw Organization on January 22.

It is a very rare first in many years to get a day and date with China for such a large-scale production of a Chinese New Year release, Jason Siu said. Display. Siu is the production and project development manager for Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures, which is also performing Wandering Earth 2 and handles international sales for Southeast Asia.

Comedy, thrillers and animations

Full River Red from veteran director Zhang Yimou is a suspense comedy set in the Southern Song dynasty, centered around the murder of an ambassador and a lost letter. The cast is led by Shen Teng, one of China’s most bankable actors, most recently seen in the hit sci-fi comedy. Man of the Moonand Jackson Yee, who has been featured in these two Battle of Changjin Lake movies and Nice view since his acting debut Better days. Huanxi Media is the executive producer.

70-year-old director Zhang has remained prolific throughout the Covid pandemic. Two of his films were released last year: Snipers, co-directed with his daughter Zhang Mo, which earned $90 million (RMB 608 million) for Chinese New Year; and Cliff Walkers (US$176.27 million / RMB 1.19 billion).

A spy thriller by Cheng Ers set in the 1940s Hidden blade also a great cast, with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai returning to his first Chinese-speaking role in five years, last seen in Marvels. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The film was shot in Shanghai in the second half of 2021 during the Covid pandemic, Leung said Display last September ahead of the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award at the Busan Film Festival.

Director Cheng has shown a flair for the crime thriller genre after directing Wasted times and Deadly Hostage. With the special appearance of famous actor Zhou Xun, Hidden blade is also the first film starring Wang Yibo of popular boy band Uniq to be released. Another movie of the singers, Born to flywas removed from the National Day holiday last September and has been moved to April 28. Hidden blade It is supported by the Bona Group Distribution Workshop, which handles international sales.

The Chinese New Year line-up is completed by two animations: Deep sea By Tian Xiaopeng, director of the 2015 box office hit animation Monkey King: Hero Is Back, which will have its international premiere at the Berlinale next month; and Boonie Bears: Guardian Codethe latest installment in the popular franchise that has been a regular fixture throughout many Chinese New Years.

Other titles include body-swapping comedy Five hundred milesDirected by Su Lun (how long i love you), starring Lei Jiayin, who is also involved Full River Redand Zhang Xiaofei of Hey Mom.

The only title not opening on Sunday is Chinese ping pong, which is a late addition, with a release date confirmed only on January 6th. It was originally dated January 22nd, but was moved to January 24th just a few days ago. The table tennis sports drama is co-directed by actor-director Deng Chao and screenwriter Yu Baimei, both of whom previously directed 2019s. Look up. Deng also stars in the film with his wife Sun Li and Xu Weizhou.