On August 23, seven new films were released in mainland cinemas, but unfortunately none of them could compete with the Hollywood movie “Alien: Romulus.” The most disappointing performance was from the highly invested film “If I Am the Person Who Loves You the Most,” starring Tong Liya, which only earned 4.55 million yuan on its first day.
According to reports from mainland media, “If I” features Tong Liya, one of the “four beauties of Xinjiang,” along with nearly 20 other celebrities including Huang Minghao, and also includes the internet sensation Li Zongheng, who has millions of followers. With a production cost exceeding 100 million yuan and a screen share of 7.2%, the film only managed to achieve a meager 3% box office share on its opening day, with a predicted total box office revenue of 25 million yuan at best.
The film tells the story of Fujiayi (played by Tong Liya), a girl without arms who grew up in an orphanage with her brother Fumanduo. They lived a peaceful life until they found a baby, which disrupted everything and sparked a new desire and pursuit in Fujiayi’s life.
Despite being labeled as a “warmth-oriented melodrama,” some viewers have questioned the plot of “If I”: “Isn’t ‘If I’ just a self-satisfying story by big celebrities and directors in the entertainment industry? Wouldn’t a normal person report finding a child immediately to the authorities? Just because the female lead was abandoned as a baby, does she have to adopt the child? Do you have the conditions at home for this? Does the child agree?”
Some netizens also criticized the high-end sweaters worn by the female lead in the orphanage: “Does the entertainment industry have a true understanding of the lives of the lower class in China? Have poor people in China come to the point of wearing sweaters worth 4,800 yuan each?” Furthermore, details like the dense hair of a one or two-year-old child have also led to negative reviews of the film.
According to analysis by the mainland self-media “Reliable Film Jun,” Tong Liya is a rare female actress in the entertainment industry with a box office performance of 21.3 billion yuan from her previous works. It is estimated that the production team also counted on her star power. Unfortunately, audience interest declined after rumors of Tong Liya’s breakup with Chen Sicheng in 2021.