American "Luxury Business Observer" article on February 28, original title: Box Office Knockout: Will boxing become China's next popular sport? The new Spring Festival film " Hot Hot " has been a hit at the box office in China, triggering a new fitness craze. "Hot and Spicy" tells the story of an overweight unemployed woman who changed her life after getting into boxing. As the lead actor, Jia Ling made headlines because she lost 100 pounds during the filming process.
As the "before and after" comparison between Jia Ling and her on-screen character went viral on social media, people's interest in boxing has also surged, especially among women who want to lose weight. Since the movie's release, the Meituan platform has been linked to "boxing" "Relevant search volume increased by 388.4%, and the search volume for "adult boxing trial class" and "women's boxing" on Dianping soared 10 times compared with the same period during the Spring Festival in 2023.
On the social platform Xiaohongshu, Chinese netizens imitate fitness or boxing moves from movies. A netizen shared her experience of attending a women’s boxing class for the first time, inspired by the movie, “The moment I threw my fist, I felt very powerful, and many distracting thoughts were thrown away. After more than an hour, I took off my boxing boxing class. Gloves, sweating profusely, I can't help but think: Jia Ling, you are the real deal!"
Various commercial brands have also noticed the marketing opportunities that come with it. A luxury clothing brand shot a fashion magazine cover for Jia Ling. The magazine detailed her physical and psychological growth while filming the movie. After all, the concept conveyed by this work is "it is never too late to improve yourself."
In addition to movies, various luxury brands are also using other ways to get involved in this "boxing craze": cooperating with professional boxers for advertising, providing clothing for boxing athletes, cooperating to launch boxing clothing and training equipment, etc.
Despite stars like Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Zhang Weili, boxing remains a niche sport in China. Sports like Frisbee, land surfing, and pickleball have all exploded before, and these brands can still capitalize on the buzz to increase their visibility and community engagement. The fitness craze comes and goes, but Chinese people’s desire for exercise and health, and Chinese women’s desire to feel powerful and confident, have always existed. Brands that grasp this emotion will continue to resonate with consumers. (Author Julina Law, translated by Dong Ming) ▲
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