He might have once been the box office king, but now it was revealed that Wu Jing’s new movie, “Blades of the Guardians” has suffered at the box office.
The movie, which cost RMB 700 million to make, reportedly grossed only RMB 120 million on its opening day, with a screening share of 16.8 percent.
Some analysts suggest that the movie needs at least RMB 2 billion in box office revenue to break even. However, the ceiling for martial arts films has long been solidified, with the highest-grossing Chinese martial arts film in the past decade being “Brotherhood of Blades II,” which grossed RMB 1.2 billion.
The market size is incompatible with the enormous cost of “The Swordsman,” which budget ballooned from RMB 550 million following allegations against the female lead Naer Naxi, who was exposed for allegedly falsifying her college entrance examination application materials years ago.
Amid increasing public pressure, the producers were forced to urgently recast the role, replacing Naer with Chen Lijun, who had to complete 32 reshoot scenes within 11 days. The additional filming reportedly increased costs, pushing the total investment up to HKD 700 million.
However, the movie is not the only one suffering from lack of success during the CNY season, as Dylan Wang-starrer, “Per Aspera Ad Astra” and Jackie Chan’s “Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe” also did not do well at the box office.
(Photo Source: SINA)