Hong Kong films have been strong in UK cinemas in recent years, with Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle coming in as one of the most successful foreign film of 2005.

 

　　

 

203 foreign films played on UK screens in 2005, 43.5% of the total films released. Cantonese was the fifth most-popular foreign language cinema, and the four films in release grossed a total of 1.7 million pounds. Of this figure, 1.3 million pounds was gross by Kung Fu.

 

The only foreign language films more popular was the French-language A Very Long Engagement grossing 1.6 million pounds, and the German-language Downfall grossing 1.9 million pounds . 　　

 

The other four top foreign-language cinemas in 2005 in the UK were Hindi, French, German and Spanish. 　　

 

Kung Fu is not the first HK film to succeed in the UK. In the period 2002-2006 the top 10 grossing HK films were, Hero, House of Flying Daggers , Kung Fu Hustle , 2046, Infernal Affairs, The Medallion , Shaolin Soccer , Springtime in a Small Town , The Eye and Infernal Affairs 2.

 

(hkfilmart August 7, 2006)