The new film “A Dream of Red Mansions: The Love Between Jin and Yu” directed by the acclaimed “master director” Hu Mei was released in Mainland China on August 16th. According to data from the professional platform “Maoyan,” as of 9:00 pm on August 20th, the film had only grossed 4.5 million yuan (RMB) in its first five days of screening. At the current rate, it is projected that the film’s total box office revenue will only reach 6 million yuan.
Many netizens have expressed dissatisfaction with the casting choices, feeling that the actors chosen for roles such as Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu do not align with the original work and audience expectations. Additionally, criticism has been directed towards the adapted screenplay, with some viewers feeling that Hu Mei’s inclusion of the “Jia embezzling Lin’s wealth” event is a drastic deviation from the original text. One viewer commented, “This classic masterpiece has been turned into a tale of youthful heartbreak literature by Hu Mei.”
Media analysis suggests that at the current pace, the film’s budget of over 200 million yuan for “A Dream of Red Mansions: The Love Between Jin and Yu” is essentially going down the drain, marking it as the “first box office disaster of the summer holiday season” this year.
Regarding the film’s rating on Douban, there are currently no ratings available, but some netizens have left scathing reviews in the comments section. One notable remark reads, “Expected it to be bad, but not this bad.”
Furthermore, “Watching Movies” magazine’s official review gave the film a 0-star rating, commenting, “How can a modern perspective be applied to portraying the love story of Jin and Yu, creating a youthful version of ‘A Dream of Red Mansions’? The director has chosen the popular path of ‘pure love warriors against the world,’ which shows a courageous attempt at innovation. However, in the span of a mere 2 hours, the film only scratches the surface of key moments such as Bao Dai’s first encounter, Xue Baochai’s arrival, Daiyu’s flower burial, and Lady Dowager Jia’s visit to the Grand View Garden. It completely lacks fundamental storytelling progression. What is more alarming is the almost complete absence of any signs of basic filmmaking throughout the entire movie, with a messy compilation of film elements, amateurish performances, outdated makeup, rough special effects, strange music choices… not a single aspect worth mentioning.”
On the 19th, director Hu Mei took to Weibo to respond at length, claiming that the poor box office performance of “A Dream of Red Mansions: The Love Between Jin and Yu” is not due to its quality but because of deliberate sabotage by certain parties, possibly involving the use of AI technology. She stated that despite being a professional director, she is just an ordinary person walking down the street and questioned which gods she had offended to have her 19-year labor of love film destroyed. It was reported earlier that the conception of “A Dream of Red Mansions: The Love Between Jin and Yu” began in 2005, leading up to its release in 2024, spanning a total of 19 years.
Subsequently, Hu Mei continued to share posts, showcasing stills of the female lead Lin Daiyu to defend her casting decisions and even exposed two self-media critics who had negatively reviewed the film.
In response, the self-media critic “Reliable Film Master” issued a statement on the 20th, saying, “This is unacceptable. The success of a film ultimately depends on audience feedback, as even the best film is meaningless if no one watches it. The box office performance of ‘A Dream of Red Mansions: The Love Between Jin and Yu’ is truly surprising, but regretfully, the renowned domestic film director seems to lack self-awareness and has even begun to counter-critique the audience.”