Weekly Box Office: “The Grandmaster” Earns 162 Million RMB on Opening Weekend

As expected, Wong Kar Wai’s (王家衛) The Grandmaster <一代宗師> topped mainland China and Hong Kong box offices in its opening weekend. Wong’s 14-year project earned 162 million RMB in China and $8 million HKD in Hong Kong, becoming the director’s most commercially successful film in recent years.

Wong Kar Wai’s films have become synonymous with artistically beautiful visuals, and The Grandmaster is no exception. The casting of Tony Leung (梁朝偉), Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) and Chang Chen (張震) added to the film’s drawing power. The Grandmaster’s successful opening was also attributed to timing, since Lost in Thailand <人再囧途之泰囧> and Jackie Chan’s CZ12 <十二生肖> have already played in theaters for one month and amassed 1.2 billion RMB and 801 RMB respectively.

The Grandmaster took 3 years to shoot, with much of the footage edited out of the current theatrical version. When deleted footage emerged, including a martial arts fight between Tony Leung and Chang Chen, fans expressed regret that such scenes were omitted. Wong Kar Wai is currently working on a 4-hour director’s cut, which may be released in Hong Kong theaters for those eager to see a more extended play of his martial arts vision.

In Hong Kong theaters, Wong Jing’s (王晶) heavily marketed Young and Dangerous: Reloaded <古惑仔：江湖新秩序> opened with moderate results of $2 million HKD. The remake was earlier criticized for its weak casting of Him Law (羅仲謙) and Oscar Leung  (梁烈唯), as compared to the original starring Ekin Cheng (鄭伊健) and Jordan Chan (陳小春).

Mainland China Box Office 

Week Ending January 13, 2013
(in millions RMB)

Rank	Film	Weekly	Cumulative	Days in Theaters
1	The Grandmaster     <一代宗師>	162.40	162.40	6
2	CZ12 <十二生肖>	80.70	800.82	25
3	Lost in Thailand        <人再囧途之泰囧>	56.55	1,203.99	33
4	The Last Tycoon       <大上海>	14.60	140.91	24
5	Love in Time            <暗恋99天>	3.10	3.10	3

 

Hong Kong Box Office 
Week Ending January 13, 2013
$ in millions HKD

Rank	Film	Weekly	Cumulative	Days in Theaters
1	The Grandmaster      <一代宗師>	$8.06	$8.06	4
2	Les Miserables	$6.29	$29.33	20
3	The Impossible	$3.47	$3.47	4
4	The Last Tycoon       <大上海>	$2.02	$4.98	11
5	Young and Dangerous: Reloaded <古惑仔：江湖新秩序>	$2.00	$2.00	4

Box Office figures from Sohu.com and HKFilmart.com