Stephen Chow is officially back! Kung Fu Soccer, the comedy legend’s long-awaited Shaolin Soccer spinoff and his first film as director in seven years, dominated China‘s box office with a mighty $73.6 million (RMB 500.3 million) haul over the weekend, according to data from Artisan Gateway. The two-day tally accounted for nearly three-quarters of all ticket sales in the world’s second-largest movie market, and nine times the takings of its nearest competitor.
The film opened Saturday across mainland China, including on Imax screens, earning $38.3 million (RMB 260.6 million) on day one, according to ticketing giant Maoyan, where users have awarded it a solid 9.4 out of 10 score. Maoyan’s forecast currently projects a total haul of $368 million (RMB 2.5 billion) — though such early projections routinely come under revision as a title moves deeper into its run.
Chow, 64, wrote and directed the Hong Kong-China co-production — his first feature behind the camera since 2019’s The New King of Comedy — but does not appear onscreen, having stepped away from acting after 2008’s CJ7. The film reboots the beloved Shaolin Soccer setup around an all-female squad, following the underdog Emei team, whose players infuse martial arts into their game during an improbable run through a tournament dubbed the Supreme Invincible Cup. Zhang Xiaofei (Hi, Mom) leads the cast as the team’s captain, alongside Dilraba Dilmurat as its star striker and Lay Zhang as the squad’s kung fu coach. Other supporting and guest appearances range from Hong Kong screen icon Carina Lau and Japanese star Takeru Satoh to former Chinese women’s national team goalkeeper Zhao Lina and U.S. comedian Jimmy O. Yang.
