Kung Fu Soccer, Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Chow’s first feature film in seven years, has scored the winning goal at China’s box office this weekend with a massive US$73.4 million haul.
As reported by Deadline, the film opened in China on 11 July, including on IMAX screens, and earned US$38.3 million (RMB 260.6 million) on its first day, totalling US$73.6 million (RMB 500.3 million) by the end of the weekend. According to China ticketing giant Maoyan, the film is projected for a total haul of US$368 million (RMB 2.5 billion) over its theatrical run, although these figures are expected to change as the film progresses deeper into its run.
This two-day tally accounted for nearly three-quarters of all ticket sales in the region, with Kung Fu Soccer’s weekend earnings being around nine times more than its closest competitor, Illumination’s Minions & Monsters, which came in at second place with US$8.1 million. Rounding off the top five at China’s weekend box office were Three Kingdoms: The Beginning (US$6.4 million), the first instalment of a planned animated saga from Light Chaser Animation, A24’s Backrooms (US$3.2 million), and Taopiaopiao’s satirical sci-fi comedy Keep Real (US$3 million).
As the spin-off of Chow’s 2001 comedy Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Soccer centres on an all-female soccer squad that adds martial arts techniques to their game during a major tournament. While Chow does not star in the film, as he had stepped away from acting to focus on directorial pursuits since 2008’s CJ7, the film’s cast is headed by Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba Dilmurat and Lay Zhang, with guest appearances by U.S. comedian Jimmy O. Yang and Hong Kong actress Carina Lau.
While Kung Fu Soccer is out in China, plans for the film’s global rollout are still in the works, with Singapore’s Encore Films acquiring the worldwide rights to distribute it outside China in June 2026.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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