China’s ‘Never Say Die’ biggest singlemarket comedy ever
BEIJING: ‘Never Say Die’ just won’t quit.
The body-swapping sports comedy from theatre troupe turned film powerhouse Mahua Funage earned US$30.9 million in its third weekend, bringing its 16-day total to a massive US$280 million, according to box-office analysts EntGroup.
That was just enough to give it the title of biggest comedy ever in a single market, taking the crown from Ben Stiller’s and Robert DeNiro’s ‘Meet the Fockers’ (US$279.3 million, 2004). It also surged past Jackie Chan’s ‘Kung Fu Yoga’ (US$250 million) from earlier this year, becoming the biggest comedy ever in the China market.
The slapstick hit is an adaptation of a Mahua Funage stage play of the same name. It tells the story of a boxer and a journalist who mysteriously swap bodies after they are zapped by electricity. Both the play and the film were co-directed by Song Yang and Zhang Chiyu, and the film stars Ai Lun and Ma Li, the two leads from Mahua’s previous blockbuster smash, ‘Goodbye Mr. Loser’ (US$226 million in 2016).
‘Bad Genius’, a Thai thriller about cunning high school kids who create a system to cheat on exams, opened in second place with US$17.1 million for the weekend — a huge haul for a Southeast Asian title. Co-written and directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, the critically well-regarded film earned US$3.3 million in Thailand after its May opening.
Martial arts drama ‘Chasing the Dragon’ finished in third place, adding US$7.1 million for a total of US$76.6 million after three weekends. That was followed by musical dramedy ‘City of Rock’, which earned US$7 million, taking its total to US$53.7 million.
STXfilms’s Jackie Chan coproduction ‘The Foreigner’ brought in $3.7 million in its third frame, taking its China total to a healthy US$76.7 million. Globally, the movie just crossed US$100 million, making it a clear winner given that it cost just US$35 million to produce.