The movie “Beyond the Mountains,” starring the controversial figure in China known as the “anti-American warrior,” Sima Nan, premiered on the 20th, but its box office performance was dismal. According to statistics from “Maoyan,” as of 9 p.m. that evening, the film’s first-day box office revenue was only 499,000 yuan (RMB). “Maoyan” also predicted that based on this trend, the total box office of the film would not exceed 2.35 million yuan.
Public information shows that “Beyond the Mountains” is set in the early 20th century and tells the story of a young man named Tang Xiaolin from a poor mountainous region. When he was cheated out of his tuition fees while studying at a university in the city, he embarked on a turbulent life in the urban area. Sima Nan, who has long touted himself as the “spokesperson for the grassroots,” played a role in the film as described in a previous press release: “Dad (played by Sima Nan) with his hoary white hair narrates the cruelty of time, the melancholy eyes interpret the bitterness of life, and the crutch he leans on depicts the struggles of the grassroots people.”
On April 20th, several Chinese media outlets reported that “the film ‘Beyond the Mountains,’ starring Sima Nan, a prominent figure on the domestic leftist front, officially debuted nationwide amid controversy.” The controversy arises mostly from Sima Nan, the lead actor of the film.
Despite the online criticism towards Sima Nan, reports indicate that his fan base is significant. On just the Douyin platform alone, he has over 35 million followers. Additionally, on Weibo, Toutiao, and other platforms, his followers reach millions. If these fans actively support Sima Nan’s new film, the box office numbers could be quite substantial.
So how did the actual box office performance turn out? According to the Maoyan app, as of 9 p.m. on the 20th, the first-day box office revenue for “Beyond the Mountains” was 499,000 yuan. Maoyan also predicted that the total box office of the film would be around 2.357 million yuan, suggesting a mismatch with the size of Sima Nan’s fan base.
In fact, on March 30th, the “Today’s Toutiao” blogger “Circle Circle Yuan Circle” revealed that “Beyond the Mountains” only grossed 200,000 yuan in ticket sales a few days after its release on March 23rd. Some even noticed that the film had less than 200 views on Bilibili, prompting the distributor to quickly remove the movie and reschedule its release for April 20th.
On April 8th, Sima Nan posted a video promoting the film, expressing frustration: “I made a movie ‘Beyond the Mountains,’ which was supposed to be released in March. Now it’s pushed back to April 20, meaning the film hasn’t been shown yet, but there are rumors online accusing me of being a bad person.” He criticized those spreading rumors for not even watching the film and vented, “You can dislike me, criticize me, curse me, even create rumors about Sima Nan online, I’m used to all that. But in this movie, so many people, is it appropriate for you to have an issue with an entire crew?”
On April 20th, a moviegoer sarcastically commented on the film: “Sima Nan’s acting in ‘Beyond the Mountains’ can be said to be top-notch. He plays a poor person so convincingly, you can’t even tell he owns property in America, putting many professionally trained actors to shame.”
Given that “Beyond the Mountains” touches on themes like illness, poverty, tragedy, struggle, human nature’s ruthless behaviors, tears, and wandering, coupled with Sima Nan’s past criticism of Nobel laureate Mo Yan’s work, some internet users have accused the film of smearing and slandering their great motherland and serving the interests of foreign hostile forces.
Public records show that Sima Nan’s real name is Yu Li. Due to his extreme anti-American and anti-Western values, he has gained popularity among the Chinese Communist Party’s online army but has also been ridiculed as “anti-American for work, pro-American for life.” Some have even listed Sima Nan alongside other figures like Hu Xijin, Kong Qingdong, and Wu Fatian as part of the CCP’s “Four Big Five-Mao.”
Back in January 2012, Sima Nan wrote on Weibo: “The United States is the enemy of all people around the world, exploiting countries worldwide like a huge tumor. People around the world are skeptical of the United States.” After this post, he boarded a flight to the United States to celebrate the New Year with his relatives living there. However, he had an unfortunate incident at the US airport where his head and neck got wedged between the escalator and a hanging wall with no protection, earning him the nickname “Sima Head Wedge” and becoming a laughingstock.
In 2022, with the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions in China, netizens revealed that Sima Nan’s wife bought a house in Fremont, California in the United States. The property was owned by his son, Yu Jiao and his wife Liu Songzhu. The purchase was made in 2010 for 583,700 US dollars, and its market value had doubled by 2022, reaching a million dollars.
Faced with the exposure, Sima Nan initially vehemently denied owning property overseas but later publicly admitted to buying a house in the United States on Weibo. However, he downplayed the situation compared to the allegations, stating, “In 2010, my family bought a small house in the US for a total of 257,000 US dollars.” He mentioned the backlash he faced from netizens criticizing him for colluding with the enemy, accusing him of preparing for defection, and labeling him as a “two-faced person”.
There were reports indicating that after the former Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Bo Xilai, fell from grace in March 2012, the Hubei Television commentator and host Bai Shui, verified by Sina, revealed that Sima Nan’s wife and son were immigrants, thanks to Bo Xilai, to the United States.