From Jackie Chan’s Vanguard to Kung Fu Mulan, eight movies showing in China during golden week
This year’s golden week box office will show how well China’s movie industry has recovered from the pandemic
Legend of Deification is an early winner, chalking up US$11.7 million in advance ticket sales for its opening day on October 1
Elaine Yau in Beijing
Published: 5:45pm, 30 Sep, 2020
https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...F&v=1601461833Jiang Ziya in a still from animated film Legend of Deification, one of eight movies in the cinematic line-up for golden week.
Jiang Ziya in a still from animated film Legend of Deification, one of eight movies in the cinematic line-up for golden week.
Legend of Deification, the animated movie co-produced by the same company that made last year’s box office champion Nezha , is set to become the top grossing film on China’s national day holiday on Thursday. According to China’s largest ticketing app, Maoyan, Legend of Deification has so far chalked up 80 million yuan (US$11.7 million) in advance ticket sales for its opening day, which is also the start of the country’s “golden week” national holiday.
Ranked second in Thursday’s advance ticket sales is patriotic movie My People My Homeland, which took in over 65 million yuan. Jackie Chan vehicle Vanguard, which opened a day earlier than Legend of Deification and My People My Homeland, reaped over 47 million yuan for advance ticket sales for Wednesday and Thursday.
The Chinese film industry sees advance ticket sales for a film’s opening day on Maoyan as a credible gauge of audience response to a production and how it will fare at the box office in China.
The week-long October national holiday in China usually brings rich pickings for studios, which fall over themselves to bring their best films to the big screen. Last year, golden week brought in 5 billion yuan in box office takings, more than double the 2.2 billion yuan of the previous year.
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Jackie Chan and Miya Muqi in a still from Vanguard.
With the coronavirus outbreak largely under control in China, mainland cinemas have been reopened for two months. On September 25, the cap on seating capacity at cinemas was raised to 75 per cent.
Industry analysts predict golden week this year will bring in 4.5 billion to 5 billion yuan in ticket sales, similar to last year’s figure, proof of the recovery of China’s cinema sector from the pandemic. Below are the eight movies which will be shown on the mainland during the golden week holiday.
Legend of Deification
The runaway box office success of Nezha has boosted the public’s expectations for Legend of Deification, co-produced by One and All Animation Studio, and Enlight Media which also produced Nezha last year.
Like Nezha, which revolves around adventures of the eponymous mythological figure in Chinese folklore, Legend of Deification focuses on the exploits of Jiang Ziya, the mythological Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of the Zhou dynasty to overthrow the Shang dynasty.
After overthrowing Shang, Jiang is at the peak of his career. About to be crowned the chief of all gods, he commits a mistake and is demoted to human status. Without his magical power, and ostracised in the human world, he embarks on a journey of salvation and self-discovery to reclaim his former glory.
My People My Homeland
Produced by Zhang Yimou and with Ning Hao as chief director, the film adopts the same format as My People, My Country , last year’s golden week box office champion. My People My Homeland is an anthology film comprising five chapters, each with a different director.
Featuring A-list stars including Huang Bo and Shen Teng, the stories portray the love of mainlanders for, well, their homeland.
Vanguard
Hong Kong action film director Stanley Tong Kwai-lai and Jackie Chan team up in their sixth collaboration. Chan plays the chief of an international security team tasked with rescuing a hostage who has been kidnapped by mercenaries.
Chan revealed to the media before that he nearly drowned in an accident when filming Vanguard. Since Chan and Tong started to work together in the early 1990s, they have made several hugely successful films, including Police Story 3: Super Cop and Rumble in the Bronx.
Leap
Released on September 25, Leap has so far earned 200 million yuan in ticket sales and 10 million yuan in advance ticket sales for Thursday. The 200 million yuan in sales puts it in ninth place on the list of 2020’s top 10 mainland films.
Directed by Hong Kong director Peter Chan Ho-sun, Leap tells the story of the Chinese women’s national volleyball team over the past 40 years. Gong Li plays Lang Ping, the current head coach of the team. It traces how the team became world champions and defended the title in international competitions.
Coffee or Tea?
Produced by Peter Chan and directed by Xu Hongyu, the comedy stars heartthrobs Liu Haoran, Peng Yuchang and Yin Fang. This is an uplifting yarn about three young men who give up city comforts for the rustic life in a 1,000-year-old village in Yunnan. Beating all the odds, they set up an e-commerce business there and strike up friendships with the locals. The film will be released on October 4.
Kung Fu Mulan
To be released on October 3, this mainland animated version of beloved Chinese traditional hero Hua Mulan comes hot on the heels of the disastrous showing of Disney’s live-action remake. This is the first mainland animation about the historical figure.
The Mulan in this animation differs from the Disney’s Mulan, which stuck to the traditional image of the filial and patriotic warrior.
Let Life be Beautiful
To be released on October 5, this movie, based on true events, portrays a young man who battles leukaemia with optimism and bravery. Faced with much uncertainty, he perseveres in pursuing his goal and dreams.
Playing the stricken young man is 14-year-old Rong Zishan, who became a household name overnight in China recently for his starring role in hit TV series The Bad Kids. Rong’s performance as a pathos-filled student grappling with a broken family and a murderer on his back earned rave reviews from critics. In spite of being a child star, he has already worked with several famous directors, including Jia Zhangke in 2015’s Mountains May Depart .
Kikujiro
Released in Japan in 1999, and written by and starring Japanese film icon Takeshi Kitano, Kikujiro has taken over six million yuan in ticket sales since its September 25 release on the mainland.
Rated 8.8 out of 10 on Douban, China’s equivalent to IMDb, the movie revolves around the adventures of a primary student who, having been raised by his grandma, decides to go to Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture to look for his mother on his own.
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Takeshi Kitano (left) and Yusuke Sekiguchi in a still from Kikujiro (1999). Photo: Office Kitano
After arriving in Toyohashi, the helpless child runs into a kindhearted woman who asks her layabout husband (Kitano) to help him out. The man and the kid then embark on a journey of self-discovery together.
