’s new movie released this week is a total annihilation.
As the mainland film market enters April, domestic films seem to be under a curse. Each one is bleaker than the last. On Saturday, April 13th, the top three mainland box office tickets in a single day will be " What kind of life do you want to live " and " Godzilla vs. Kong 2" and " Kung Fu Panda 4" are all imported films. Hollywood has also changed its past decline. "Godzilla vs. Kong 2" is even expected to hit the 1 billion box office mark.
The six domestic films premiering this week are really disappointing, especially "My Love from the Dog Star" and " Under the Day ".
Aaron Kwok can’t be saved either? "My Love from Wang Xing" lost more than 90 million.
"My Love" and "Under the Sun", one stars Hong Kong film superstar Aaron Kwok, and the other is a pure Hong Kong film.
As the most expensive domestic film with the strongest star cast this week, "My Love from the Dog" failed to show much influence. As of 22:00 on April 13, the daily box office on the second day of the film's release was only 2.3 million. , accounting for 9% of the film schedule, but only 1.9% of the box office. The attendance rate and "Under the Day" jointly ranked at the bottom. According to the current trend, the final box office of the movie should be around 10 million.
The production cost of the film is as high as 100 million, of which Aaron Kwok's salary accounts for the majority.
"My Love from Dog Star" tells the story of a father who accidentally turns into a dog to accompany his adult daughter. The plot is similar to "Goodbye!" starring Wu Jing. "Li Cola" is no different, except that "My Love from Dog Star" puts more emphasis on fantasy, and the dogs are also made with special effects.
movie has a poor reputation, and it is not surprising that it lost more than 90 million.
The most puzzling thing is the quality of Aaron Kwok's films in recent years. " Secret Visitor ", " When the Storm Comes Again ", " Disconnected " and so on are worse than the last. Is it the king of Hong Kong movies? Have you fallen so low that you just make a movie without looking at the quality of the script?
Fortunately, Louis Koo did not appear, Hong Kong won the championship, and the mainland box office was only 2.2 million. The worst Hong Kong movie of the year is here!
In contrast, Louis Koo clearly regards saving Hong Kong films as his own responsibility.
"Under the Sun" is undoubtedly the most acclaimed Hong Kong film to be released in the mainland in 2024, but it is also the worst Hong Kong film.
As of 22:00 on April 13, the single-day box office of "Under the Sun" has dropped to 2.2 million, and the cumulative box office in the two days since its release was only 4.82 million. The film schedule accounted for 6.3%, and the box office accounted for 1.8%. The attendance rate is appalling.
The Douban score of the movie is as high as 8.1. To put it bluntly, "Under the Sun" is a hit but not a hit. Movie fans gave it high marks, but ordinary mainland audiences didn't buy it.
This may have something to do with the theme of the movie. The movie
received 16 Academy Award nominations. It is adapted from real events and tells the story of a female reporter Xiaoqi interviewing a home for disabled people, revealing the cruelest inside story of this home. However, the heroine faced many challenges during the investigation. With all the pressure, the truth almost doesn’t matter anymore.
This news report that shocked the whole of Hong Kong happened in 2016. At that time, director Jian Junjin was deeply shocked and wanted to make a movie to warn the world. Unexpectedly, the script was written and he found several film companies in succession. I am unwilling to invest. After all, it is difficult to make money with such realistic themes, and there is no market for pure Hong Kong films in the mainland.
"Under the Day" is a movie that definitely loses money.
At this time, Louis Koo stood up and gave the movie a budget, and even told the director that if he couldn't find the male protagonist, he could do it himself.
However, the director invited Lin Baoyi. Louis Koo originally wanted to make a cameo, but finally gave up due to various reasons. Lin Baoyi lived up to expectations, and his acting skills in the film were legendary. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Fortunately Louis Koo did not play the role, Lin Baoyi is definitely more suitable.
Secondly, Louis Koo is already a signature of Hong Kong movies, especially in the mainland market, where he is a box office guarantee. If he stars in a movie with such a dismal box office, it will definitely affect his box office appeal.
What’s interesting is that the film performed well in the Hong Kong market, winning consecutive daily box office championships. In the end, the Hong Kong box office exceeded HK$20 million, and even ranked fourth among Chinese-language films in the Hong Kong market in 2023. But we all know that the current Hong Kong market is too small, and "Under the Sun" still has not recovered its investment, so it can only pin its hopes on the mainland market.
Unfortunately, with the current trend, the film’s final box office in the Mainland is unlikely to exceed 10 million.
Although the box office was dismal, I still feel: Louis Koo has taught domestic films a lesson.
Realistic movies have never been popular in the mainland market. Even if there are hits like " I am not the god of medicine ", the original selling point of the movie is actually Xu Zheng's comedy. The criticism of reality is not profound and is limited by the environment. , domestic films with this theme often have a positive ending.
But "Under the Sun" is different. Louis Koo never thought about repaying his original investment, nor did he even think about it being released in the mainland.
's film is straightforward, confronting social problems without going round and round, without being overly sensational and giving the audience a happy ending in their imagination. Such a sad film is destined to be dominated by commercial films such as " Hot and Spicy " The mainland market is not popular.
