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Changing the title from Impasse to Cliff WalkersQuote:
Apr 8, 2021 2:05pm PT
Zhang Yimou’s ‘Cliff Walkers’ to Debut in U.S. Day-and-Date With China
By Rebecca Davis
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"Cliff Walkers"
Zhang Yimou’s historical spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” will hit North American cinemas on April 30, day-and-date with its China release.
“Cliff Walkers” was previously title “Impasse” in English. Its Chinese title translates to “On the Cliff.” It is distributed in North America by CMC Pictures. International sales are handled by Emperor Motion Pictures.
The film marks Zhang’s first foray into the spy genre. Based on a script by Quan Yongxian, it is set in the 1930s in China’s snowy northeast, known then as the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. It follows four Communist party special agents who return to China after receiving special training in the Soviet Union. They are sent on a secret mission code-named “Utrennya,” but the moment they parachute in, they find they’ve been sold out by a traitor, and are now in deep water.
The title stars Zhang Yi (“Operation Red Sea”), Yu Hewei (“I Am Not Madame Bovary”), Qin Hailu (“The Pluto Moment”) and Zhu Yawen (“The Captain”).
In China, the weekend of April 30 is a three-day public holiday to mark Labor Day on May 1. Locally, “Cliff Walkers” will face an unusually strong field of competitors, with 14 new releases currently scheduled to debut that weekend.
According to Maoyan data, the most hotly anticipated titles among them are “My Love,” a rom-com starring Taiwan’s Greg Hsu and Zhang Ruonan (“Cry Me a Sad River”), and thriller “Home Sweet Home,” which stars Hong Kong’s Aaron Kwok and Zhang Zifeng — who is currently riding high on the unexpected success of her film “Sister,” still in theaters. The more artistic “Cliff Walkers” currently ranks eighth.
Fifth Generation director Zhang is one of China’s best-known helmers abroad. His last two films to release in the U.S. were the stylish martial arts film “Shadow” (2018) — which grossed just $521,000 domestically, but $90.5 million in China — and the infamous Matt Damon-starring co-production “The Great Wall,” (2016) which grossed $45.5 million stateside and $171 million in China.
His latest film “One Second” finally debuted last November in China after being plagued by censorship problems from early 2019, when it was abruptly yanked out of the Berlin International Film Festival. It grossed $10.6 million. No plans have been announced so far for a U.S. release.
Zhang’s current project is set during the Korean War, and tells the story of a Chinese sniper renowned for his skill at gunning down U.S. soldiers. It is eyeing an October release, likely in time for the country’s patriotic National Day holiday.
Watch the trailer for “Cliff Walkers” below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjXXVdpAe8g
Wonder how this compares to the global market now that Chollywood has risen.
Quote:
May 9, 2021 9:14pm PT
China Box Office: Zhang Yimou’s ‘Cliff Walkers’ Strides Back Into Top Spot
By Rebecca Davis
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CMC Pictures
Zhang Yimou’s spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” strode into first place this weekend at the China box office with a $24.3 million score, bringing its cumulative total up to $118 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.
It more than tripled the gross of “My Love,” the melodramatic rom-com that had outpaced it last week for first place, in what was the opening weekend for both films. The latter film came in third this week, grossing $8.9 million to bring its cume up to $113 million.
The reversal shows once more that strong word of mouth helps film burn longer and more brightly than hyped, star-driven titles, which can initially rake in huge numbers but hit a wall once the tap runs dry.
“Cliff Walkers” earned $1.7 million of its weekend score from Imax screens. That lifts the film’s Imax cumulative to $8million.
All five of the top titles this week debuted last weekend over the Labor Day holiday, dubbed by local critics the strongest May 1 release window in history due to the fierce competition between over a dozen new releases.
iQiyi’s anti-corruption crime thriller “Break Through the Darkness” came in second with $13.8 million, but its cumulative is currently only $34.6 million.
In fourth was yet another anti-corruption crime thriller: Erdong Pictures’ “The Unbeatable.” The Hong Kong drama starring Louis Koo and Tony Leung Ka-fai grossed a further $5.2 million to bring its running total to $31.7 million.
Thriller “Home Sweet Home” hit fifth, grossing $2 million, bumping its gross so far up to $32.1 million.
The total China weekend box office this weekend was $58.2 million, bringing the country’s box office so far this year up to $3.5 billion — down 9.8% from the same period in 2019. The 2021 total has been achieved with ongoing in-cinema capacity restrictions due to COVID precautions and just a handful of Hollywood titles in the content mix.