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Hong Kong’s box office in 2024 saw local films record a bigger market share than Hollywood blockbusters for the first time since 2004, but overall takings for the year dropped 6.2% to $172.7m (Hk$1.34bn) – the lowest in 13 years.

In a rare coup, two local hits topped the annual chart. Soi Cheang’s action feature Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In and Anselm Chan’s funeral business drama The Last Dance made history as the second and third local film to ever reach the Hk$100m milestone, taking $13.94m (Hk$108.44bn) and $18.28m (Hk$142.26bn) respectively. The latter also smashed all records...

Trinity CineAsia has acquired UK and Ireland rights to We 12, the upcoming action comedy starring all 12 members of Cantopop boy band Mirror, in a deal with Hong Kong’s Makerville.

The film will open in UK and Ireland cinemas on March 29, the day after its release in Hong Kong through Edko Films, and coincides with the Easter holiday weekend.

Directed by Berry Ho and written by Lai Sze Cheung, the story follows 12 members of an underground organisation who secretly maintain peace in the world using a range of extraordinary skills. After long being separated, they must reunite to steal an...

Exclusive: UK distributor Trinity CineAsia has acquired UK rights to Norris Wong’s The Lyricist Wannabe from Hong Kong’s Edko Films and is planning a theatrical release on March 15.

Wong’s second feature following her award-winning debut My Prince Edward (2019) follows a high-school student who is determined to become a successful Cantopop lyricist. But while she works hard to hone her craft, handle rejection and draw inspiration from her personal experiences, nothing seems to go her way.

Chung Suet-ying, an up-and-coming actress who is also a real-life Cantopop lyricist, stars in the film, which features a soundtrack with lyrics composed by Norris Wong. Produced by Wong Hoi (Let It Ghost), the film also stars Ansonbean (Rob N Roll), Tang Lai Ying (Mama’s Affair), Sabrina Ng (Say I Do To Me) and Chu Pak Hong (My Prince Edward).

The UK release will come just one week after the film,...

Jack Neo’s Money No Enough 3 has collected a record-breaking $7m over Chinese New Year in Malaysia and Singapore.

The comedy drama, about post-Covid financial woes, stars a trio of Singapore’s most well-known actor-comedians – Neo, Mark Lee and Henry Thia – alongside an ensemble of local celebrities. It had led the box office in both territories since opening on February 1 in Singapore and February 9 in Malaysia as of yesterday (February 28).

With cumulative takings of $3.2m in Singapore, it has become the top performing Asian film since the Covid pandemic in 2020, overtaking Korean blockbuster Train To Busan: Peninsula and Japanese anime Demon Slayer.

Andy Lau starrer The Movie Emperor and romantic drama Viva La Vida have had their releases cut short in China amid stiff competition, while Yolo and Pegasus 2 are among four local breakout hits that contributed to a record-breaking $1.1bn box office over Chinese New Year.

Satirical comedy The Movie Emperor earned just $11.1m (RMB80m) after one week following its release on the first day of Chinese New Year (February 10), which also saw the opening of a string of hot local titles.

Chinese producer Huanxi Media issued a statement on social media to say it would be pulled from...

China’s Pingyao International Film Festival has officially named Lin Xudong as artistic director and revealed details of a fresh international film fund.

The announcement, made in Berlin during the European Film Market, also included the addition of seasoned film programmers Naoki Kamiya and Junko Fukatsu to the team. They will serve as programmers for foreign-language films, alongside existing team members Wu Jueren, the programmer for Chinese language films, and shorts programmer Song Jia.

Pyiff’s programme was previously overseen by former artistic director Marco Mueller from 2017 to 2021. Lin stepped in at that time and Mueller became chief consultant for the festival,...

The Hong Kong box office was dominated by a trio of local titles over Chinese New Year, earning almost $8m (Hk$62m) in 10 days.

Taking the top spot was Table For Six 2, with a cumulative box office of $4.07m (Hk$31.86m) as of February 18, while The Moon Thieves ($2.5m/Hk$19.58m) and Rob N Roll ($1.35/Hk$10.54m) ranked second and third respectively.

All three opened on Chinese New Year’s Eve (February 9) when multiple tentpole titles traditionally open to take full advantage of the lucrative festive period.

Ensemble family comedy Table For Six 2 rode on the success of its predecessor,...

A clash with Chinese New Year and the imminent launch of Hong Kong Filmart has resulted in a reduced presence from some parts of Asia at this year’s European Film Market (EFM).

It is hard to spot any Hong Kong exhibitor on the market floor of the Gropius Bau as sales and production companies from the territory are holding their latest lineups for Filmart, which begins on March 11, less than three weeks after EFM wraps.

Representatives of sales and acquisition company Golden Scene are at the EFM primarily as buyers, looking for new titles for theatrical distribution in Hong Kong,...

With its charming ensemble cast, Sunny Chan's ‘Table for Six' mixed slapstick comedy with melodrama, creating a number one box office hit in Hong Kong in 2022. The original film explored romantic complications and family issues, and most of this film took place at a single apartment dinner table. More ambitious in scope, the sequel ‘Table for Six 2' has an expansive budget, the same charismatic cast and takes place in a multitude of locations, replacing the apartment dinners with three respective wedding ceremonies. Despite this new makeover, ‘Table for Six 2' feels lackluster in script and story when compared to its predecessor, with only its stellar cast keeping it alive.

“Table for Six 2” is screening in UK and Irish cinemas, courtesy of Trinity CineAsia

Returning to their roles as half-brothers, Louis Chung and Charm Man Chan are Bernard and Lung. Although the siblings are seemingly...

Cinema box office in Hong Kong failed to live up to expectations over the Lunar New Year holidays, even as local films led the chart.

Movie theatre takings between Feb. 9-13 in Hong Kong weighed in at just Hk$48.6 million ($6.23 million), according to data provided by Hong Kong Box Office Limited, a joint venture between Motion Picture Industry Association (Mpia) and the Hong Kong Theatres Association. That was fully 24% below the Hk$64 million attained last year.

Unlike mainland China, where the official Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year) celebrations last for a week, Hong Kong takes three only three days as public holidays. This year one of them, Saturday, occurred over a weekend, meaning that workplaces were closed only for four days (Friday-Tuesday).

Audiences in the territory, which returned to full Chinese sovereignty in 1997, also have substantially different taste from their northern brethren.

The top film in Hong Kong...

Sean Durkin’s wrestling drama The Iron Claw will look to become box office champion on its opening weekend, starting in 517 UK-Ireland cinemas through Lionsgate.

The film tells the true story of the Von Erich brothers, who made history in the competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, 2017 Screen Star of Tomorrow Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons star as the Von Erich brothers, with Lily James and Maura Tierney also on the cast; Arcade Fire member Richard Reed Parry wrote the film’s score.

The Iron Claw premiered in Dallas, Texas just hours...

In a battle of two Universal titles at the U.K., Ireland box office, animation film “Migration” flew to the top, besting star-studded caper “Argylle” in the process.

“Migration” debuted with £3.5 million ($4.4 million), according to numbers from Comscore. “Argylle,” a global under performer, bowed in second place with £2 million.

In third position, in its third weekend, Paramount’s “Mean Girls” earned £843,601 for a total of £6.8 million. Disney’s “All of Us Strangers” collected £797,004 in fourth place in its second weekend for a total of £2.7 million.

Rounding off the top five was A24’s “The Zone of Interest,” which debuted with £585,855. The only other bow in the Top 10 was Curzon-Amazon MGM’s “American Fiction” with £389,375.

Coming up, opening mid-week on Wednesday Feb. 7 is horror-comedy “Dagr” from Fizz and Ginger Films. Feb. 8 sees the release of Tamil-language sports and gangster drama “Lal Salaam,” headlined by Indian superstar Rajinikanth.

There are a plethora of releases on the Friday.