“Warriors of Future” Breaks Box Office Records

Louis Koo’s (古天樂) Warriors of Future <明日戰記> broke many firsts in Hong Kong film history. As Hong Kong’s first major sci-fi action movie, it surpassed HK$66.56 million, becoming the all-time top grossing Chinese-language film in local theaters.

Heavily promoting the film since its release, Louis said, “I’m very happy and moved. This film took a long time to produce, but it earned the audience’s support. I’m also overjoyed that Hong Kong movies are doing really well at the box office [this year]. It’s most important that we can produce better [local] films.”

Miraculous Box Office Turnaround in China

Costing a whopping 390 million Chinese yuan to produce, there was a time when Louis worried whether he would be faced with steep losses. After a lackluster start, the film had a miraculous turnaround in China and earned 674 million Chinese yuan.

When Warriors of Tomorrow was released in Chinaon August 5, the box office results were not ideal and it grossed CNY 100 million on opening day. The movie was also overshadowed by Moon Man <獨行月球>, which had more scheduled screenings.

The cast, including Louis, Sean Lau (劉青雲), Carina Lau (劉嘉玲), and Philip Keung (姜皓文), worked very hard to promote the movie in China and Hong Kong, by appealing for local support of the groundbreaking production. Louis especially promoted Warriors of Future on multiple channels: via social media, livestreams, as well as flying frequently to China to meet with fans. The actor urged viewers to “watch less western movies and support Hong Kong movies.”

As Chinese state media acknowledged the movie’s sincere efforts, especially in the special effects category, word of mouth also spread. The box office results saw a miraculous upward trend in its second week of release.

When distributors extended its theatrical run until October 4, allowing it to run through the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, Warriors of Future became the top-earning Hong Kong release this year.

Action Scenes from “Warriors of Future”