Encore Films has acquired worldwide distribution rights outside mainland China to Kung Fu Soccer, Stephen Chow’s first film as director in seven years and the long-awaited spin-off of his beloved martial-arts-meets-football hit Shaolin Soccer from 2001.
The Singapore-based distributor will handle theatrical and related rights across international markets outside the mainland, where the film will be released by Maoyan Entertainment. Release dates are still to be announced.
Chow wrote and directed Kung Fu Soccer — covered for the past two years under its announced title, Shaolin Women’s Soccer — but does not appear in it, having stepped back from acting after 2008’s CJ7. The film recasts the Shaolin Soccer premise around an all-women squad: the underdog Emei team, who integrate martial arts into their game on an improbable run at a championship. Zhang Xiaofei (Hi, Mom) leads the cast as the team’s captain, alongside Dilraba Dilmurat and Lay Zhang (Zhang Yixing).
Shot in 2025 and now in post-production — with heavy use of visual effects — the film is expected in 2026, the 25th anniversary of Shaolin Soccer. It will also hope to ride the global enthusiasm surrounding this year’s FIFA World Cup.
