raithen

So does anyone have any information regarding the total box office earnings of Shaolin Soccer? I'm curious how close it came to eclipsing First Strike's record.

Cheers,

-matt

Kevin8284

CheungYF, I actually read about the theatre you are going to watch Zu in. Let me just say lucky you. ^_^
Shaolin Soccer's take as of this past Thursday is at around $54 million HK. It's close, but it may not end up beating the record.
When Time and Tide played here in the states, most of the reviews were actually positive, with Ebert and Roeper giving it a "two thumbs up" for its stylized action. I'm buying the Region 1 DVD as soon as I find a store that has a copy, surprisingly, the store I went to yesterday was all sold out.
Love on a Diet has been announced for at least a VCD release on August 30th, according to dvdshelf.com.

Yellow Hammer

After 39 days in the theatre, Shaolin Soccer is at $55.67HK million dollars. It's within $2HK million of the record, but Shaolin Soccer is fairly close to the end of its run. If it can somehow remain in the theatres for 2 more weeks, it may have a chance to break the record. First Strike did take 54 days to get to its $57.5HK mil mark by the way. Somehow in my mind I get the feeling that Stephen would be the type of person that would personally buy a bunch of tickets just to get the record - just like companies do on NFL football games to make sure that the game doesn't get blacked out on TV in the local city.

Fulltime Killer is rolling along, after 10 days it's at $18.11HK million. After the weekend, Legend of Zu (4 days) is at $6.09HK million.

Yellow Hammer

I saw over the weekend that Joey Yung was implicated in a murder-for-hire scheme. Don't have too many details on this, perhaps one of the HK folks knows more about this.

This might be a good time to release this movie really really soon. Publicity, whether good or bad, always helps sell tickets...

fourspot

Word is that Joey Yung had a couple of thugs beat on on Eric Tsang Chi-wai in a Kowloon club last month. He needed 21 stitches to his big forehead. That wuss now has round-the-clock police protection. Honestly, that guy needs an ass kicking. The police also accused her of ordering the attack on Leung Sze-ho for making fun of her earlier this year.

Unlike Joey giving out orders, Zhang ZiYi can kick ass anytime all by herself.

wonton

is it true that zhang ziyi told the media that the hk people are damned? i read that off at sanney's hkentreview.com. if that's true, she's one attitude and arrogant actress!! i also heard that she talked trash about vicki zhao and that not many people attended to her concert. i didnt know she can sing?!

Dagan

She wasn't talking about the Hong Kong people, she was talking about the Hong Kong tabloid press - they were making up stories about a love triangle between her, Jackie Chan and Jackie's son, and other things, and it reportedly(and rightfully) infuriated her. The Hong Kong press(at least these certain, bottom-feeder publications) are notorious for just making things up to cause scandals. She was young and got mad instead of just letting it go - even though I'll bet that stuff is pretty hard to let go.

I didn't hear anything about the Vicki Zhao thing, so I'm not sure about that.

mvc

Yeah, the HK press has been really negative toward Zhang Zi Yi. I don't get why they just don't admit her talent, instead of putting her down every chance they get. I just recently learned that Zhang Zi Yi was called "Little Gong Li" not because of her similar looks, but because the HK press belived that she had an affair with Zhang Yi Mou (who Gong Li was with before).

I too haven't heard of the Vicky Zhao things....
Zhang Zi Yi singing? Hehe, I have a couple of movies of her singing, but it wasn't anything great. But at least she looked great in them.

Kevin8284

I've read that in an interview with Zhang Ziyi on the set of Rush Hour 2, when she was asked whether she was honored to be working with jackie Chan, she actually replied "Why don't you ask whether Jackie is honored to work with me?"
Personally, I think she's been spoiled by the media and the people within the business so much that now she's become an arrogant actress who thinks she's better than who she really is.
I admit she has talent and because of that and her looks(hey, I AM a guy), I can overlook her real life personality as long as she makes good movies.
Meanwhile, I've actually gotten a chance to check out Shaolin Soccer, but it's only a Mandarin dub. I don't think I'm supposed to say where I got it. Anyway, it was a pretty funny movie considering what i saw based on the physical comedy. The computer effects, while sometime obvious, is done rather well for a Hong Kong movie. Simply said, it's Stephen Chow's best movie since God of Cookery. Of course, only based on what little Mandarin I could understand and what I saw visually. I expect the DVD is going to be excellent.

Yellow Hammer

Rush Hour 2 came out today in HK, and although the first day box office was ok ($1.1HK million), it's certainly no indication of the box office blockbuster status accorded to it in the U.S. I have no reason why Hollywood couldn't simply release movies at the same time in H.K. but it seems that piracy or other factors has eaten into the box office. We'll know more after the weekend.

The Shaolin Soccer watch: now at $56.61HK million after 43 days. Still about $1HK million short of the HK local record.

Kevin8284

I doubt if Rush Hour 2 will be a big success. The first one didn't do all that great in Hong Kong with only $12 million HK, whichis hugely disappointing for a Jackie Chan movie in Hong Kong. This one might've have received a little more press due to the shoot in Hong Kong, but Chris Tucker's humor doesn't really appeal to anyone outside of the States plus I think Hong Kong audiences are getting tired of Jackie Chan's movies. Of course, there's also the piracy factor, which may eat into the total box office take. It's been so long since I've seen more Hong Kong blockbusters in Hong Kong box office than foreign films.

Dagan

I'm not going to defend Zhang Ziyi's possible personality because I don't know her, and have no basis for defense, and furthurmore would have no reason to defend her anyway. But I can't say she has a personality that must be "overlooked", either, for the same reasons.

Who knows what her personality is? I don't think one sentence or interview can convey that - we've all said things that could be taken the wrong way, or said things in a moment that we wouldn't later want defining our personalities. How do we know she wasn't saying that as a playful joke and the interviewer thought it'd be a better angle to play it the other way(it's a better story that way)? How do we know she even said it at all? I've been a member of the press and I've seen people make up quotes to get good print. The point is, we just don't know why she said that if she said it at all, and in what context. And I think it's unfair to down her as a person based on something so fleeting - people are so complex that you can't really gage a person on something so small as a quickie press-junket interview.

In addition, I've seen things she's said in other Rush Hour II interviews that seemed like she was in extreme awe of working with Jackie Chan; and that Jackie was "her hero". This may be a load of crap, too, but the other side does exist. The point is we just don't know, and far too often celebrities and people we have never met are judged by quick soundbites and news stories that may or may not be true.

And anyway, like you said, in the end it doesn't matter. What matters is how she is on screen - not how mean or nice she may be in person - when we pay to see her in a movie it is as a character, not as herself.

wonton

i have a few friends who live in singapore and they know about zhang ziyi's arrogant and pompous too. a friend of my friend has met zhang ziyi in real life and she told me friend that zhang ziyi is one of those type that acts like she's all that kindda like faye wong. but there's no way she can be compare to faye cus faye has been in the ebuzz much longer than zhang, so she got her own fans and repitation. i also heard that zhang acts differently when the reporters are not around. there wouldnt be any smoke if there isnt any fire, so zhang must have done something offended the hk media and that's why they're biting on her. why do you think they have to pick on her and not one of the hk nicest actress - nadia chan?

i dont deny that i'm bias toward her cus she just looks so arrogant and bitchy (excuse my use of word, that's how she really looks to me). hey, i'm a guy too and i dont find her to be that attractive and i'm not gay. hehe. anyway, like you said, we pay to see their on screen and not their off screen personal life. whatever the reasons, i still cant seem to like her (for now).

Trigger

Shaolin Soccer

Teaser: Real Player Media

Teaser: Windows Media Player

Found another source for the trailer, so thought I'd re-post it. Anyone else find a better or different trailer?

Yellow Hammer

Shaolin Soccer's box office after this weekend is now at $57.61HK million, which surpasses the previous high of $57.5HK million set by First Strike back in 1996.

Fulltime Killer is going very strong at $23.44HK million after 3 weekends (17 days). After 2 weekends (11 days), The Legend of Zu is doing so-so at the box office, $10.23HK million.

Rush Hour 2 after the weekend is at $5.57HK million. It's obvious now that just like the first movie, the HK audience isn't enthralled with this one either. As a point of comparision, Shaolin Soccer was around $15HK million after its first weekend of showing.

Yellow Hammer

the summer is coming to a close pretty soon, and that also means no more forseeable HK blockbusters for a while. Shaolin Soccer is still going strong, now at almost $60HK million after 53 days ($59.35mil) as of today and breaking all HK box office records with every passing day. Fulltime Killer is going into retirement after this week, it's run will end with a B.O. of around $25.5HK mil, not bad at all. Zu 2 will be going to pasture pretty soon as well, it is at a relatively paltry $11.5HK mil after 18 days, and is going to have a hard time even getting to $12HK mil.

My Schoolmate The Barbarian came out this weekend, don't think it's going to do much of anything. $2.5HK mil for the 3 days.

Yellow Hammer

as many of you know, Shaolin Soccer was supposed to come out on DVD on Monday (09/03), but it is still playing at many of the theatres in HK, still raking in money even after 60 days on the screen. As such, there is a delay on the release until it disappears from the theatres. I would guess that this would be the final week of showing, but given the lack of good new movies coming up, don't quote me on this. BTW, the HK box office for Shaolin Soccer has now exceeded the unprecedented $60HK million mark.

Yellow Hammer

according to DDDHouse it looks the the Shaolin Soccer DVD release is going to be pushed back until between Sept 10 and Sept 13. Subject to change of course...

Kevin8284

I ordered Shaolin Soccer on the night of August 30th at Yesasia for 13.99. Good thing I did too because they raised the price to 16.99 over the weekend. After they delayed the release, Yesasia put the "expected release date" to be September 7th. And now there IS no expected release date. I don't know if I can wait any longer for the original Cantonese extended version of the movie after watching the crap quality of the b*otleg version. By the way, Yellow Hammer, any word on the extras featured in the disc? I hope to see the Andy Lau MTV I read about in the HK magazines.

Yellow Hammer

no one really seems to know what extras will be on other than the fact that it is the extended version.

Shaolin Soccer is still in over 1/3 of the theatres in HK as of Friday 9/7 so I'm guessing that the DVD won't be available until the 13th at the very earliest. I'm amazed that is is still in the theatres, over 2 months now (64 days).

foxdvd

Any final numbers on what Shaolin Soccer did? What about other movies in Hong Kong so far this year? And what did Rush Hour 2 end up doing?

Yellow Hammer

Off the top of my head, here are most the top box office HK movies for the year (I think I got all of them), all approximations and in HK dollars:

Shaolin Soccer - $60.5mil
Love On A Diet - $41mil
Accidental Spy - $30 mil
Wu Yen - $27.2 mil
Full Time Killer - $27 mil
Fighting For Love - $19.5 mil
La Brasserie - $16.7mil (still active)
Everyday is Valentine - $15 mil (very raw guess)
Master Q 2001 - $15 mil (very raw guess)
Zu 2 - $12mil
Feel 100% II - $12 mil (very raw guess)

I believe that Rush Hour 2 in HK ended up just like Rush Hour - a paltry $12 mil HK.

foxdvd

Thanks YH

IC_Freeze

wait, stop right there. you have friendsin SG? First, let's be honest. SG people in general are arrogant, materialistic, spoiled and selfish. I should know because most of my friends are SG people so I wouldn't listen too much what SG people think when it comes to people's character.

ok you can go on now

Beeeil

Off the top of your head? It's scary how much you know about this subject!! Thanks for all the info - I learned a lot from this (revived) thread.

I just watched Shaolin Soccer and Love on a Diet on DVD and thought that Diet was more enjoyable because the performance of both Sammi and Andy were wonderful. You can still see Sammi's cute personality through the fat suits she had on.

SS was a great film too, but I thought that it had some spots in the film that could be cut out to make it a tighter movie. SS DVD is very generous on additional material for a HK release, though.

Beeeil