EXCLUSIVE: Whereas Hong Kong’s movie business has not had the best journey because the pandemic, it continues to defy expectations by throwing up regionally produced movies which have been breaking data on the native field workplace.
The newest of those, Emperor Movement Footage’ The Final Dance, launched in November 2024, has turn out to be the highest-grossing Hong Kong movie of all time – certainly the highest-grossing Chinese language-language movie ever on the Hong Kong field workplace – grossing greater than $20M (HK$161M).
The movie has additionally carried out strongly on its worldwide launch – taking greater than $800,000 (GBP620,000) within the UK, the place it’s the third highest grossing Hong Kong movie of all time behind Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle and Wong Kar Wai’s In The Temper For Love. It has additionally accomplished properly in different territories, together with North America, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, grossing $4M (RM18M) within the latter, a market that normally solely watches motion motion pictures from Hong Kong.
Cecil Yow, COO, EMP
A Administrators Minimize of the movie is being rolled out in Hong Kong and several other different territories on April 4, which ought to push its field workplace even larger. It’s additionally main the race for the upcoming Hong Kong Movie Awards on April 27 with 18 nominations.
Directed by relative newcomer Anselm Chan, the movie tells the story of an out-of-work marriage ceremony planner, performed by Dayo Wong, who groups up with a Taoist priest, performed by Michael Hui, to run a funerals enterprise. Along with revealing Hong Kong’s elaborate funeral traditions, it additionally touches on themes of household bonds and obligation, loss of life and grieving, clashing spiritual faiths and gender equality in conventional society.
Nevertheless it does all of that while making the viewers chuckle. Wong and Hui are two of Hong Kong’s best-known comedians, albeit from very totally different generations, who show each their severe and comedic sides within the movie.
Emperor Movement Footage’ COO Cecil Yow sat down with Deadline at their Hong Kong places of work to speak in regards to the making of the movie, the explanations for its success, and the way it has influenced their manufacturing technique transferring ahead.
“What appears to be taking place, on this a part of world particularly, is that you simply want motion pictures with characters that folks can relate to, reasonably than big-budget particular results,” says Yow. “Each single character in The Final Dance goes by one thing that the viewers can relate to. Michael Hui’s character, for instance, is an expert in his commerce, who’s at all times caught to conventional values, however by the top of the movie realizes he was improper.
“His daughter – after all in Chinese language tradition they at all times really feel just like the boy is the favourite of the household. And the son who’s working within the household commerce even he doesn’t prefer it, and the way his sister reacts when he decides to maneuver away. All these are points that resonate with individuals. So I believe the viewers style is altering. Beforehand Hong Kong movie-makers have been excellent at cop motion pictures, gangster movies, motion, however now individuals need extra emotional reward.”
Whereas The Final Dance’s success introduced some cheer to the native movie business, total field workplace has struggled to get better from the pandemic, reducing 6% year-on-year in 2024, because of a mix of things together with the rising reputation of streaming, altering consumption patterns and a depressed native economic system.
On the similar time, big-budget Hong Kong-China co-productions have been seeing decreased earnings within the mainland market the place field workplace has additionally been slowing outdoors of key vacation intervals. Like many huge Hong Kong manufacturing corporations, Emperor Group can also be an exhibitor, working cinemas in Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau, and with a restricted ancillary market, declining field workplace is a matter for everybody.
Yow says that movies comparable to The Final Dance, and Chinese language animation Nezha 2, produced by Beijing-based Enlight Media, which has grossed greater than $2bn, show that audiences are usually not shunning the theatrical expertise – it’s simply that they’ll solely end up for the fitting movies.
“When you’ve got film that folks can relate to, then they’re going to go and see it, there’s little question about that. So the reply for Hong Kong filmmakers is that we have to discover new strategies, new methods and new story concepts, one thing far more all the way down to earth. All the large superhero and motion motion pictures aren’t working any extra. The viewers is clamoring for extra substance and that means.”
Yow provides that altering course would require taking an opportunity on untested expertise and daring concepts, which isn’t simple in a depressed market the place traders have a tendency to stay to confirmed formulation. He explains that The Final Dance director Anselm Chan had solely made two comparatively small comedy dramas for EMP earlier than he approached them with the script of the movie.
“He’s excellent with characters, however clearly it’s a really delicate topic, should you get it improper it could possibly be miserable or backfire. So it’s a topic that only a few traders can be fascinated by. However we purchased the man’s capacity to inform good tales.”
The opposite issue that helped the film – and one which inspired EMP to place in barely extra price range than they normally would for a newcomer’s movie – was the casting of Michael Hui and Dayo Wong. The 2 actors characterize two generations of Hong Kong cinema; Hui reinvented Cantonese-language cinema again within the Seventies with this down-to-earth comedies about Hong Kong working class life, whereas Wong has introduced his personal model of humor to native movies, though he additionally performed a extra severe position in authorized drama A Responsible Conscience, which was Hong Kong’s highest-grossing movie ever with $15m, till The Final Dance got here lengthy.
“The chemistry between them was simply wonderful,” says Yow. “Each are comedians however are usually not normally acknowledged as actors in severe motion pictures. Michael, who’s 82 now, was actually pleased with the mission. So any further, what we’re taking a look at is extra motion pictures with messages, but additionally with the fitting mixture of artists. If we now have the fitting script and director, we’re keen to speculate a bit extra when it comes to getting the fitting forged and doing it proper.”
EMP majority financed The Final Dance, with Alibaba Footage coming in as a co-producer so the movie could possibly be launched in mainland China, the place it grossed $30M.
“It did properly within the southern a part of China, which understands the tradition and the ceremonies depicted within the movie,” says Yow. “The response from audiences within the north was that they’d by no means recognized a father to be so robust on his kids. There are undoubtedly cultural variations between the north and south of China.”
Whereas EMP is creating extra movies alongside these strains – with robust, relatable tales and the fitting mixture of artists – the corporate shouldn’t be giving up on its signature big-budget motion motion pictures utterly, and has just a few within the pipeline, that are being offered right here at Hong Kong Filmart. These embrace Derek Kwok’s Raging Havoc, starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse, about two brothers in search of revenge for the brutal homicide of their household, which is presently in post-production.
The corporate’s small to mid-budget titles embrace Tam Wai Chin’s Somebody Like Me, produced by Stanley Kwan and starring Fish Liew and Carlos Chan, a couple of lady with cerebral palsy exploring her sexuality, whereas Stan Liu’s As soon as Upon A Lie, produced by Pang Ho Cheung, follows a struggling author who stumbles into an internet romance with a fan of his work.
“Comedy is one other style that we predict is sort of attention-grabbing and need to discover,” Yow continues. “We need to revisit that style as a result of audiences have to really feel uplifted. Nevertheless it must be comedy with a message, not the slapstick sort of comedy that Hong Kong was once well-known for. Audiences are usually not shopping for these anymore.”
Yow mentioned subsequent steps for the corporate might also embrace worldwide collaboration and EMP’s manufacturing chief Jason Siu has just lately been assembly filmmakers in Taiwan. The corporate has additionally been taking a look at manufacturing infrastructure and subsidies in markets comparable to Thailand and Malaysia, in addition to Hong Kong’s just lately launched Europe and Asia co-production schemes.
“We’re not ruling something out,” says Yow. “Taiwan has a variety of nice expertise and plenty of of their filmmakers have been educated within the West so have a global outlook. Hong Kong corporations have discovered it tough to collaborate with Europe prior to now, as we work at a special tempo and infrequently with totally different logic, however it is a good time to be taking a look at extra variety and Europe makes some wonderful movies.”
