The Year of the Horse has arrived auspiciously for Hong Kong theatrical releases, bringing a 53% year-on-year box office rise over the Chinese New Year session.
Overall takings for Hong Kong and neighbouring Macao reached $5.1m (HK $39.7m) from February 16-19. The Hong Kong Box Office, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association (MPIA) and Hong Kong Theatres Association, attributed the astounding result largely to the performance of Chinese New Year titles.
The top two spots went to Jack Ng’s hostess bar comedy Night King, which earned $3.4m (HK $26.7m) over the four days, and Philip Yung’s lottery comedy The Snowball On A Sunny Day, which grossed $609,425 (HK $4.8m).
These were followed by Yuen Woo Ping’s period martial arts film Blades Of The Guardians ($330,830/HK $2.6m), holdover Back To The Past ($270,010/HK $2.1m) and Sony Pictures’ sports comedy animation Goat ($182,316/HK $1.4m).
Distributor, producer and exhibitor Edko Films reported several box office milestones for Night King, including the biggest opening day for a Chinese New Year film of all time on $1.4m (HK $11m), the biggest single day for a Chinese New Year film, and the fastest Hong Kong film to reach $6.4m (HK$50m), which happened on February 23 after seven days in release.
Set against the backdrop of a nightclub in East Tsim Sha Tsui that has seen better days, the film centres on the manager who is forced to work with his bossy ex-wife to save the business from going under.
Director Ng reteams with producers Bill Kong and Ivy Ho and actor Dayo Wong following his directing debut, the legal drama A Guilty Conscience, which was a breakout Chinese New Year hit in 2023 and went on to become the first local film to hit $12.8m (HK $100m) and top the overall Hong Kong box office in that year on $14.72m (HK $115.1m).
Night King also stars Canto-pop diva Sammi Cheng alongside an ensemble cast comprising Louise Wong, Fish Liew, Tse Kwan Ho, and Yeung Wai Lun. In mainland China, it has amassed a cumulative gross of $10.4m (RMB 72m) since opening on February 20.
The Snowball On A Sunny Day distributed by Mei Ah Entertainment opened earlier on Valentine’s Day and crossed $1.28m (HK $10m) on Sunday (February 22). The story follows a young woman who puts up a show for her grandmother and her parents to pretend that they have struck the jackpot and forgets to buy the lottery ticket with the winning numbers.
The cast includes Elaine Jin, Chung Suet Ying and Edan Lui, with a special appearance from Louis Koo and Michael Hui. The comedy marks a departure for director Yung, who is better known for gritty crime drama Port Of Call and heavy-hearted drama Papa.
Back To The Past Plus+ Multiverse Edition launched on Valentine’s Day as an extended version to boost its box office. The time-travel adventure had earned $11.96m (HK $93.5m) as of February 19 following its release on December 31.
