In a recent development, mainland Chinese actor Wu Jing, once lauded by the Chinese Communist Party as a “box office guarantee,” has had his latest film “Farewell, Villains” release for 7 days with a disappointing box office revenue of only 268,000 yuan (RMB). The film was pulled from theaters on August 28.
” Farewell, Villains” is set in the old city area of Wuhan and tells the story of a small-time crook, Da Wu (played by Chen Minghao), who meets a young boy named Dou Dou (played by Chen Yuzhe) while trying to collect debts for others. As Da Wu helps Dou Dou fulfill his last wish, the old city area is rejuvenated by their interactions. Some netizens have commented that the storyline is too cliché and reminiscent of South Korean films.
Wu Jing promoted the film on Weibo, claiming that despite its small scale, “Farewell, Villains” carries a powerful message of warmth and resilience, believing that audiences will resonate with it.
Data from the professional version of Maoyan revealed that the film premiered on August 22 with a mere 0.2% screen share on its first day. By August 28, the daily box office revenue had plummeted to 31,000 yuan, with the screen share and box office revenue both less than 0.1%, amounting to a total revenue of only 268,000 yuan after 7 days. Of this revenue, 159,000 yuan came from Wuhan audiences, as it is a Wuhan dialect film.
Chinese media has pointed out that this performance marks a departure from Wu Jing’s usual box office success. In the past, Wu Jing’s presence alone was considered a guarantee of high ticket sales.
Dubbed the “Wolf Warrior Star,” Wu Jing has earned substantial profits in recent years by starring in “patriotic” films. He currently ranks second in mainland China’s box office charts for leading actors, with total box office revenues reaching 34.7 billion yuan, just behind Shen Teng’s 36.9 billion yuan.
For example, the “patriotic” action film “Wolf Warrior 2,” financed by the Chinese military, grossed 5.7 billion yuan and became the highest-grossing domestic film in history after its release in 2017. Similarly, the heavily promoted “The Wandering Earth” and “The Battle at Lake Changjin” grossed over 8 billion yuan collectively. The sequel to the latter, “The Dam,” also achieved a box office success of 4 billion yuan.
Analysts have suggested that Wu Jing’s success in “patriotic films” in mainland China may be more attributed to the Communist Party’s propaganda and use of administrative power to create a false image, rather than solely the appeal of the films themselves, indicating a distortion in the Chinese film market.
Facing the dismal box office performance of “Farewell, Villains,” the film’s producers announced its withdrawal from theaters on August 28, with a promise to “meet again in the near future.” However, past examples like “Mr. Red Carpet” and “China’s Ping Pong” show that films withdrawn midway and then rescheduled often struggle upon re-release. Netizens have expressed skepticism, citing the proverb, “Rise at first, then decline, and finally exhaust.”