China's domestic films strike back in May Day holiday
- By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, April 28, 2017
 |
|
Director Herman Yau and cast members Jiang Wu, Song Jia and several others appear at the premiere of "Shock Wave" in Beijing, April 26, 2017. However, the film's biggest star Andy Lau is missing due to an injury from a horse-riding accident while shooting a commercial. Lau sent a recorded video to the premiere asking his fans not to worry and asking them to support his new film, which is about a bomb-disposal officer. [Photo / China.org.cn] |
After long absence from the top spots on China's box office chart, four Chinese-made films will debut on Friday hoping to win back audiences during the May Day holiday.
Locked in battle are Leste Chen's psychological sci-fi thriller "Battle of Memories," Herman Yau's bomb-disposal action blockbuster "Shock Wave," Derek Hui's gourmet romance comedy "This Is Not What I Expected" and Pang Ho-Cheung's "Love Off the Cuff," a new chapter of his romantic comedy series.
Industry observers believe the four films could rake in more than 1 billion yuan over the three-day holiday.
Hollywood has reigned in China for nearly three months since "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" was released on Feb. 10 after China's Spring Festival film season.
"Kong: Skull Island," "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" and "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" all passed the 1-billion-yuan mark while the phenomenal "The Fate of the Furious" has even surpassed 23 billion yuan (US$333 million) in China alone and became a top grossing film of all time on the mainland.
In addition, "Beauty and the Beast," "Logan" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" also produced strong performances in the second biggest film market in the world.
"I hope the four new Chinese films could win together following the Hollywood reign," said director Leste Chen. "Their high quality should be rewarded and encouraged by audiences."
However, there's still no contribution by Chinese mainland directors in this strikeback battle as Chen is a Taiwan director, while other three are from Hong Kong.
China's domestic films may just have very short time for relief. Though the curtain will fall on the first run of "The Fate of the Furious" after three weeks, Disney/Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" will open in China on May 5. Heavyweights such as "Power Rangers," "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," "Life" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" will all open in China in May as well.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)