2023 is coming to an end, with the annual box office exceeding 50 billion. Zhang Yimou's "Man Jiang Hong" won the championship with 4.544 billion.
"The Wandering Earth 2", "Desperate", "She Disappeared", "Apotheosis Part 1", "The Octagonal Cage", "Chang'an 30,000 Miles" and other films have performed well.
In comparison, this year’s Hong Kong films have been underwhelming, with the top-grossing “Drug 3” only earning 284 million.
"Breaking Point", "Assassination Storm", "Disconnected", "When the Wind Rises Again" and "Don't Call Me "The God of Gamblers"" all failed to break the 100 million mark. Next, we can only watch Andy Lau's "Stealth" and "Goldfinger".
Hong Kong films have been sluggish in the mainland market, so how is the box office in the local market?
Let’s talk today about the 10 highest-grossing Hong Kong films in 2023 (only box office in Hong Kong is counted) .
10, "To Me at Nineteen", box office 10.29 million Hong Kong dollars
This is a controversial documentary. At the beginning, Zhang Wanting was commissioned by the school to record the changes in the relocation of the school building.
But the story presented in the end is based on the growth process of six students with different backgrounds. The film took ten years to make, and 300,000 hours of material were cut into a 136-minute film.
The film was initially screened on a small scale. Some people said it looked good but a little uncomfortable, and questioned the director's exploitation of students. violated documentary ethics . After
was released, the person involved in the film clearly opposed it, accusing the school and the film crew of not respecting students' privacy and that many scenes were shot without their consent.
then triggered a large-scale discussion. The school and the director were questioned: Is more important for students or for works?
The film was released on February 2, but was suspended on February 6 due to public pressure.
09, "When the Wind Rises Again", box office 11.21 million Hong Kong dollars
Hong Kong movies have never been short of hero movies. The story of the four major families and the four detectives has been filmed too many times.
In the past, these hero movies were all traditional genre movies, integrating elements such as crime and gunfights, and spent a lot of time describing how they made a fortune and rose to power.
But Weng Ziguang is different. He only intersperses some historical footnotes sporadically, and more often takes pictures of their emotional stories, and uses this to connect the decades of history of Hong Kong. Director
obviously wanted to learn from Wong Kar-Wai, but unfortunately he only learned "shape". The art scenes and shots were good, but he had no "soul" and a confusing narrative. In the end, it became a movie that looked different.
Not only did the Hong Kong audience not buy it, but the mainland also did not recognize it. It only sold 49.04 million at the box office, which was a waste of the performances of Tony Leung, Aaron Kwok, and Xu Guanwen.
08, "Homicide", box office 11.69 million Hong Kong dollars
Produced by Johnnie To, written by You Naihai, directed by Cheng Baorui, starring Lin Jiadong, full of Galaxy image temperament.
This is a film about how people fight against fate. The director skillfully integrates murder and numerology, injects the theme of changing fate against the will of heaven, and creates a new twist on the fatalism of the Milky Way image.
Lin Jiadong took over the role of Liu Qingyun and began to star in the psychological film "Galaxy Image". However, he is not a detective, but a magic stick. He uses various Feng Shui techniques and Chinese and Western metaphysics to help a deliveryman change his life.
Zheng Baorui captured the madness of the past. Although the film is dark and depressing, it is full of tenacious vitality. In the end, there is a touch of kindness, saying: Your destiny is determined by your choice.
Lam Jiadong's performance was outstanding. It is said that one scene was filmed 53 times, setting his personal record and being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in advance.
07, "Don't Call Me "The God of Gamblers"", box office 12.99 million Hong Kong dollars
The title of the film was changed again and again. It was called "Glory Days" when it was originally being prepared, and was changed to "Sunshine Years" during filming. Maybe
was worried that the name would be unattractive, so he changed it to "I'm Not the God of Gamblers", and before it was released, it changed to "Don't Call Me "The God of Gamblers"".
Changing the name is nothing more than a lack of confidence in the film, using the "God of Gamblers" IP, and also wanting to harvest a wave of viewers who don't know why. It can be called a "scam" movie.
The story of the film is cliche. A father who is addicted to gambling and his autistic son redeem each other and find themselves.
Chow Yun-fat's performance is a bit exaggerated, but the biggest advantage is that it contains private goods and runs in the movie.
The biggest tear point is actually Liao Qizhi, whom I miss.
06, "Anti-Drug 3: People at the End of the World", box office 13.98 million Hong Kong dollars
The IP of "Anti-Drug" can be traced back to 10 years ago. The version directed by Chen Musheng, Nick Cheung's classic lines, are still being circulated today.
In 2019, Qiu Litao took over "Anti-Drug 2". With Andy Lau's blessing, the box office reached 1.312 billion, which indirectly inspired the birth of the third film.
Then Andy Lau quit, Liu Qingyun returned, Aaron Kwok joined, and Louis Koo was still unstoppable.
Qiu Litao did not play any new tricks in this movie. He is still playing the undercover police detective and the Golden Triangle drug lord. This wave of cold rice can no longer be stirred up.
Gun fight scenes and explosion scenes are naturally popular, but the premise is that they serve the plot and cannot be exploded for the sake of explosion.
Yang Caiyu is purely a tool in the movie, the "heroine" is actually Aaron Kwok , after all, Louis Koo and Liu Qingyun both love him. The IP address of
should end here. There must be no more "Anti-drug 4".
05, "Psychic Robot Robbery", box office 16.15 million Hong Kong dollars
is adapted from the Korean movie "Two Kilometers Lost", which was also remade by Taiwan's "Weird". Although the name
contains "下", there is actually no "upper". This is just a marketing method, so there is no need to try to find the previous one.
Overall, this is a failed remake. The director tried very hard to localize it to Hong Kong, but in the end it became nothing like the original.
Nonsensical clips, slightly embarrassing, not enough suspense, not enough character development, in short, biting off more than it can chew.
even added a joke about Hong Kong movies at the end, which is really unnecessary. It is just a little clever after all.
04, "Under the Sun", box office 21.05 million Hong Kong dollars (currently in theaters)
There is a joke in Hong Kong circles now that the filming story is not important, the most important thing is Louis Koo.
Louis Koo is now a well-deserved Hong Kong film tycoon. For this movie, Yee Dongsheng and the director found five investors, and only Louis Koo was willing to invest.
He felt that making a movie should not only be based on commercial considerations. This movie was adapted from a true story and could well reflect the current situation of society, so he voted for it.
At first, he planned to play the role of "Dean", but later found that it was not suitable. Only with Lin Baoyi's wonderful performance, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in advance.
This is a serious film involving social issues. After watching it, it will make people reflect on what is the truth and what is justice . It is of great social significance.
The actors in the play performed well. Yu Xiangning's determination and stubbornness, Jiang Dawei's pretending to be stupid, and Liang Yongting's romance are all highlights.
03, "Diary of a Youth", box office 21.63 million Hong Kong dollars (currently in theaters)
You can make a good movie with little money. The investment of "Diary of a Youth" is only 3.25 million Hong Kong dollars, which would not even be enough to earn a fraction of the star's salary in the mainland.
The film is written and directed by Zhuo Yiqian. He pays great attention to the structure of the script and uses a diary to connect two time and space. When the two narrative lines converge, people are completely immersed in it and cannot extricate themselves.
What is rare is that the film does not deliberately sensationalize and make people tear up. Instead, it focuses on real life and is quite detailed. At the same time, there is no moral preaching or compassion, allowing the audience to reflect on their own.
A disharmonious family will do immeasurable harm to children. Producer Er Dongsheng mentioned after the screening that raising children requires enough patience and energy . If you just blindly ask him to make progress, it is unqualified.
Although the film has a scene in which the father is critically ill, it does not end with a big reconciliation like in conventional works. After all, some pain cannot be healed.
02, "The Dead 44", box office 22.69 million Hong Kong dollars
"Corridor of Justice" director He Juetian's second work is an absurd black comedy.
Starring Mo Shunjun, Cheng Zhongji, Yu Xiangning, Liu Jiang, Huang Wenhui, etc., it mainly tells the story of residents on the first floor who are worried that the unknown naked body will affect housing prices, so they work together to transport the body out.
Although it revolves around a corpse, it still tells the story of people. Every family has its own troubles and life is not easy. satirizes the problems of the Hong Kong property market .
is generally quite satisfactory, with a good story, but the characterization is too thin, and the reconciliation between father and son and the old man without a home are only scratches in his head.
The biggest highlight is the security guard Li Shangzheng, who is worthy of being the golden supporting role in Stephen Chow's movies.
01. "Vicious Lawyer", the box office was 115 million Hong Kong dollars
When it was released in the mainland, it was renamed "Vicious Lawyer" and it sold 187 million Hong Kong dollars, which is quite good.
"Vicious" is the first Hong Kong film in the history of Hong Kong films to have a box office of over 100 million. It is of great significance to break the monopoly of Western films.
The video can break the record, which is inseparable from the following points.
ranks first. The story is exciting, with desperate counterattacks, passionate reversal of the verdict, and angry denunciation of the powerful in court. is a modern version of "The Nine-Rank Sesame Official".
Secondly, the emotions are on point. From a movie perspective, this is a fairly standard courtroom movie, but the lines he shouts can make people's hearts beat.
Thirdly, the performance of the actors, Huang Zihua is naturally the highlight, and the verbal battle with the Confucian scholars is brilliant, but several actors such as Xie Junhao, Wang Minde, Lin Baoyi, Liao Ziyu, etc. also contributed outstanding performances.
Of the 10 movies listed above, only 4 have been released in the mainland and 6 cannot be seen. However, it is said that "Under the Sun" and "Diary of a Young Man" are expected to appear on the big screen in the mainland.
is silently looking forward to it, because with them, Hong Kong movies will not die. (Written by: Eleven)
