On April 29th, the anti-Japanese film “Kung Fu Ping Pong,” which premiered in mainland China, is the first new film to be released during this year’s “May Day Golden Week” and also the first to be eliminated. The box office on the opening day was only 6,615 yuan (RMB), with 192 viewers. The next day, on April 30th, the box office dropped to 38 yuan, leading internet users to jokingly refer to it as a “one-day tour movie in theaters.”
It is reported by mainland Chinese media that, with dismal box office numbers, the producers of “Kung Fu Ping Pong” decided to release the film on Tencent’s online platform, effectively declaring its defeat in the theatrical market without suspense, making it the worst-performing new film of this year’s “May Day Golden Week.”
“Kung Fu Ping Pong” started filming in 2018 but inexplicably stayed shelved for 6 years after completion. The film caused quite a stir back then, featuring supporting roles by actors like Yuan Hua, Yuan Qiu, Huang Yifei, Lam Tsz-sin, and Yuan Qiongdan from Stephen Chow’s films, and even touted the return of the team behind “Kung Fu” and “Shaolin Soccer,” with the title being a combination of the two films.
According to information, “Kung Fu Ping Pong” was directed by Zhao Ming, known for the revolutionary film “Railroad Guerrillas,” and stars mainland Chinese singer Lu Yi, Taiwanese actor Zhang Liwei, and Hong Kong actor Lam Tsz-sin, among others. The story is set in the Republic of China era, where Japanese people organized a table tennis competition to seize control of Chinese cities. A group of martial arts masters combine martial arts with ping pong to defeat the Japanese.
Although the plot and character settings seem to be a copy of Stephen Chow’s “Shaolin Soccer,” some fans have expressed that “Shaolin Soccer” is purely for entertainment, while “Kung Fu Ping Pong” lacks courage and directs its criticism towards the safe target of the Japanese.
Some viewers also ridiculed the film, saying, “The protagonists of ‘Kung Fu Ping Pong’ include thieves, bandits, cooks, etc., starting from scratch to learn how to play ping pong. It’s definitely impossible for them to win, so the four martial arts masters come to teach them martial arts skills, which are then combined with ping pong to finally defeat the Japanese. The biggest logical flaw in this story is that with these skilled characters holding deep grudges, why bother playing ping pong instead of directly confronting the Japanese?”
Due to various factors such as the macroeconomic environment, industry insiders pointed out that there might not be many winners during this year’s “May Day Golden Week” in mainland China. However, the biggest loser is already certain – the film “Kung Fu Ping Pong” that premiered on April 29th.