On October 12, 2024, the mainland Chinese film “Kidnapping Game,” starring Peng Yuchang and with an investment of 150 million RMB, premiered in theaters nationwide to a dismal box office performance. As of 7 p.m. that evening, the film only grossed 890,000 RMB on its opening day.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Japanese author Keigo Higashino, “Kidnapping Game” tells the story of Lu Fei (played by Peng Yuchang), a poor young man who tries to turn his fortune around in one night using his wit, but finds himself owing a huge gambling debt to the casino boss Qin Haipai (played by Yao Lu). In a desperate situation, he encounters Qin Xiaoyao (played by Hu Bingqing), the daughter of the creditor who is on the run from home, and a dangerous game of “fake kidnapping, real deception” begins.
According to reports from Chinese media, on October 12, after the end of the Golden Week holiday period, despite only two new films, “Kidnapping Game” and “Rural Era,” being released, both films performed poorly at the box office.
“Rural Era” only grossed 14,000 RMB on its opening day, but with its low production cost and lack of major stars, “it won’t lose much even if it fails.” On the other hand, “Kidnapping Game,” with an investment of 150 million RMB, only grossed 890,000 RMB on its opening day as of 7 p.m., with a screen share of 11.4% and a box office share of 6.2%. The film’s screening and box office ratios were inverted on its premiere day, with the lowest attendance rate in the market. Therefore, media comments suggested that Peng Yuchang’s “Kidnapping Game” is facing a dire situation of no return.
Some Chinese media described the turbulent production process of the film adaptation of “Kidnapping Game” as “quite tumultuous”: the original work by Keigo Higashino was adapted into a Chinese web drama titled “Ten-Day Game” in 2019, which garnered favorable reviews and market popularity at the time; seizing on this momentum in 2021, preparations for the film adaptation began with Zhu Yawen and Jin Chen as the leads, but eventually switched to Peng Yuchang and Xu Ruohan; however, just before production began, the female lead was switched to Hu Bingqing.
After the film finally wrapped up production and was scheduled for release during the 2022 New Year period, it bombed in terms of pre-sale box office. With a production cost of 150 million RMB, the pressure on the production team was immense, leading to a swift decision to pull the film from release.
While typically, films that are pulled from release quickly choose a new premiere date, “Kidnapping Game” was delayed for a full two years. This not only raised questions among the audience about the film’s quality but also the market conditions have changed significantly since then. Consequently, given the current trajectory, the film has little hope of breaking even in the end.