The film “Safe Passage”, starring Gulnazar, one of the “Four Beauties of Xinjiang”, was released on September 30th and in just four days, it only grossed 17.83 million yuan at the box office. On the evening of October 3rd, the official account of the film announced its withdrawal from the “National Day” holiday release slot, citing “unprecedented difficulties and challenges” during its screening period.
“Safe Passage” is directed by Liu Jiangjiang and stars Gulnazar, Xiaoyang, Ayunga, Huang Xiaolei, and others. Public records show that the film is based on a true story, depicting the events following a severe earthquake encountered by death row prisoner Zheng Ligun while being transported by the authorities. The film explores the choices made by the condemned prisoner with merely 24 hours left to live and the police responsible for his custody in the face of a natural disaster.
Since its release on September 30th, “Safe Passage” had a low screening percentage and struggled with declining box office earnings over consecutive days, leading to a decrease in screenings. On September 30th, the film had an 8.8% screening rate with a mere 6.5% box office share, which decreased to 6% and 1.2% on October 1st, and further plummeted to 3.7% and 0.7% on October 2nd. By October 3rd, the screening rate had dwindled to just 2.1%.
On the evening of the 3rd, the production team announced the film’s withdrawal, stating, “Encountering unprecedented difficulties and challenges during the screening period, we regret not being able to meet the high expectations of more eager audiences.” They also mentioned that the release slot is “to be determined”, hinting at a possible rescheduling or re-release of “Safe Passage”.
Some viewers reported that complaints had been filed before the withdrawal announcement, stating that after purchasing tickets, they were forcefully refunded due to “cinema equipment malfunctions”.
Director Liu Jiangjiang acknowledged the poor box office performance, which significantly impacted the film’s screening opportunities. He expressed hopes of reconnecting with audiences in the future. Producer Wan Yuhang shared feelings of frustration on social media, admitting, “This was my first venture into film investments and will likely be my last.”
According to reports by “Phoenix Net”, a theater manager surnamed Zhu analyzed the film’s low screening rate, citing reasons such as unclear genre classification, inadequate comedy elements, overly sentimental scenes, and general mediocre word-of-mouth reviews. The lack of strong star power also posed a challenge for the film to break through to a wider audience.
As the lead actress, Gulnazar seems to be facing a streak of career setbacks this year. Previously, her fantasy action film “Legend”, co-starring Jackie Chan, suffered a considerable loss at the box office after its release on July 10th, accumulating only 61,000 yuan on the first day and ending with a total of around 79.9 million yuan in earnings by August 11th, estimated to have incurred losses exceeding 300 million yuan. Now, with “Safe Passage” encountering difficulties, there are concerns among netizens about Gulnazar’s future prospects and potential decline in popularity. In comparison, the film’s reception pales in comparison to director Liu Jiangjiang’s previous work “Life’s Big Events”, which grossed 1.7 billion at the box office in 2022, making the current situation all the more regrettable.