The autumn wind is gradually picking up, and the summer season of 2024 has officially come to an end. Maoyan Professional Edition data shows that as of 21:00 on August 31, the total box office for the 2024 summer season was 11.633 billion yuan, with a total of 284 million moviego

The autumn wind is gradually picking up, and the summer season of 2024 has officially come to an end.

Maoyan Professional Edition data shows that as of 21:00 on August 31, the total box office for the 2024 summer season was 11.633 billion yuan, and the total number of moviegoers was 284 million.

has a total of 38.247 million screenings, breaking the record for the total number of summer screenings in Chinese film history. During the period, a total of 26 films exceeded 100 million, the highest number in the past six years.

Although the title looks glamorous, the Chinese film market is still in decline through data that cannot withstand scrutiny.

The total summer box office fell by 44% year-on-year, and the total number of moviegoers shrank by nearly half year-on-year.

The re-release of old movies has become the lowest-cost attempt to save the market. But not all classic old movies will be bought by people when they are brought to the big screen again.

The "magic" we are going to talk about today has failed -

The God of Cookery

Director : Stephen Chow / Li Lichi Screenwriter: Stephen Chow / Gu Dezhao / Lao Wensheng / Zeng Jinchang Starring: Stephen Chow / Karen Mok / Xue Jiayan / Ng Mang Tat / Gu Dezhao Type: Comedy / Action Release date: 2024-08-31 (Mainland China) / 1996-12-21 (Hong Kong, China) Duration: 92 minutes (Mainland China)

Stephen Chow , the undisputed king of comedy in the Chinese film industry.

In 1996, he directed and acted himself, and collaborated with Li Lichi to create a blockbuster movie - "God of Cookery " .

This movie has become a classic in the hearts of a generation with its unique charm and Stephen Chow's iconic nonsensical style.

As Stephen Chow's classic work, the storyline of "The God of Cookery" is talked about by the majority of movie fans, and its unique comedy style and exquisite narrative structure have become a benchmark for Hong Kong comedy movies.

Stephen Chow (played by Stephen Chow) is a influential figure in the catering industry and enjoys the reputation of "The God of Food". However, behind his success lies pride and arrogance.

In fact, his cooking skills are not outstanding. He is more operated by capital and media behind the scenes, which is quite similar to today's Internet celebrity bloggers.

's lack of ability and arrogant character eventually caused him to fall into the enemy's trap. After being betrayed by his closest assistant, Stephen Monday lost everything overnight, fell from the altar, and became an ordinary person with nothing.

At the lowest point in his life, Stephen Chow met Turkey (Mok Wenwei) and a group of friends from all walks of life on Temple Street. With their help, Stephen Zhou relied on his ingenuity and unique understanding of food to invent the "explosive peeing beef balls" and caused a sensation in the street food world.

After experiencing a series of challenges and trials, Stephen Zhou decided to participate in the God of Cookery Competition to prove his strength and regain the lost honor.

Facing his former opponents, Stephen Zhou said firmly: "I don't want people to say that I am great, but I want to tell others that I must get back what I lost."

This line is not only a reference to " The tribute to "The True Colors of a Hero" is a true reflection of Stephen Chow's own heart.

In 1994, Stephen Chow, with his infinite enthusiasm and innovative spirit for movies, established Caixing Film Company and launched the work "Westward Journey".

With its unique style and high cost, this film was particularly prominent in the film market at that time. Although "Westward Journey" did not achieve immediate commercial success and even led to the dissolution of Color Star Company, this did not extinguish Stephen Chow's pursuit and exploration of film art.

Stephen Chow's tenacity and perseverance were reflected in 1996. He once again established Xinghui Overseas Co., Ltd. and personally directed and starred in "The God of Cookery". The film won the love of the audience and market recognition with its superb comedy art and Stephen Chow's signature nonsensical style.

The success of "The God of Cookery" not only proves Stephen Chow's extraordinary talent in film creation, but also marks his return to the pinnacle of the Chinese film industry, once again establishing his status as the king of comedy films.

As the highlight of the film, the God of Cookery Competition in "God of Cookery" is full of irony.

It looks fair and authoritative, but in fact it is full of collusion and exchange of interests. This is undoubtedly a metaphor for the entertainment industry at that time.

In the two God of Cookery competitions in the film, Stephen Chow was the judge for the first time. On the surface, he had strict requirements on the contestants, but in fact, he secretly used money to bribe his opponents and expand his business empire.

At the end of the God of Cookery competition, although the judges were moved by Stephen Chow's "Sadly Ecstasy Rice", they had to declare against their will that the God of Cookery was still Tang Niu because they were caught by their opponents. These plots undoubtedly reflect Stephen Chow's profound insight into the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry.

At the end of the video, Stephen Chow's words "There is no God of Cookery, or everyone is a God of Cookery" directly pointed out his life sentiments.

After experiencing countless high moments and troughs, Stephen Chow realized that box office, awards, and titles are just false names. The real value is the food made with care, the simple and sincere things that can touch people's hearts.

Stephen Chow’s film narratives often do not follow the plot structure of traditional art, but make the things narrated unexpected and outside the text, so that various parts of the text tend to fragment.

When the judges tasted the dishes in "God of Cookery", they were first given an overwhelming display, with plates of delicious food flying in the air, the judges themselves rolling and crawling, and thunder and lightning "boosting" between the shots.

After a lot of wrathful tossing, the fainting judge finally lay quietly on the carpet, with a drop of tear quietly falling from his cheek.

The judge said: "What's wrong? How could I cry? There is a sad feeling!" Stephen Zhou replied: "It's onions. I added onions."

The narrative is so exaggerated and falling, the emergence of "onions" Take plot development out of the ordinary.

Stephen Chow's movies have a characteristic of "rejecting the sublime" . It likes to use games to dissolve the sublime, replacing absurdity with truth, eliminating historical significance, flattening depth and moving towards flatness, and achieving the elimination of the sublime through "nonsensical" funny techniques. and seriousness.

"The God of Cookery", a once classic comedy, has finally met the audience again on the big screen after experiencing the baptism of time.

However, this re-release seems to have failed to reignite the audience's enthusiasm.

With the changes of the times, some viewers feel that the humor elements in the movie have difficulty resonating with the current society and no longer meet their aesthetic expectations.

In terms of box office performance, the re-release of "The God of Cookery" also failed to meet expectations. Although the producers invested a lot of energy in promoting the film, hoping to attract audiences into the theater, the box office revenue on the opening day was only a few million yuan, far from previous predictions.

As the audience's evaluation gradually declined, the film's box office also showed a continuous downward trend.

The Hong Kong comedy represented by Stephen Chow's movies has indeed left a profound mark on the times for a generation.

They are not only popular in Hong Kong, but also have a wide impact on the mainland and the global Chinese community.

With their unique humor, exaggerated performances and profound emotional expressions, these movies have become indelible memories in many people's hearts.

The failure of the re-release of "The God of Cookery" also announced to the market that with the changes of the times, the audience's aesthetics and expectations are also constantly changing.

Movies, whether produced or re-released, need to consider how to resonate with modern audiences.

In short, returning to the peak of Hong Kong films requires us to examine and appreciate these classic works from a multi-dimensional perspective.

At the same time, film producers and distributors are also required to fully consider the needs and expectations of modern audiences when re-screening, and use innovative ways to breathe new life into these classic works.

*The author of this article: Qianqian