[2024.11.12] THE LAST DANCE PASSES HK$ 20 MILLION AND SETS MORE RECORDS

THE LAST DANCE opened last Saturday. As of 11PM last night, its box office has exceeded HK$ 20 million and set 9 records

Dayo Wong's 2009 TVB series originally had a barbecue ending, which Wong did not accepted and took the initiative to come up with 5 pages of script

Dayo Wong on Carol Cheng's THE DO SHOW says that he has never imagined that he would be in the top ten highest grossing Hong Kong films
courtesy of mingpao.com

The Dayo Wong Tze Wah and Michael Hui Koon Man starred film THE LAST DANCE (POR. DEI YUK) opened last Saturday (9th) and set 9 new Hong Kong film records. As of 11 o'clock last night, its box office has accumulated more than HK$ 20 million. The word of mouth has motivated the audience to support the movie, as the long missed crowd returned to cinemas. Wong Tze Wah on the Carol Cheng Yui Ling's online program THE DO SHOW mentioned his determination to become an actor but has never thought that he would be able to break into the top ten Chinese language film box office (A GUILTY CONSCIENCE (DUK SIT DAI JONG) topped the chart, TABLE FOR SIX (FAN HEI GUNG SUM) in 4th). With THE LAST DANCE's box office trend, Wong Tze Wah would not have difficulty with a third film in the top ten box office. In the interview Tze Wah talked about the chance of returning to television series would be slim, which was related to screenplay quality. He revealed that the 2009 series YOU'RE HIRED (JUET DOI SEUNG GIU) originally had a parking lot barbecue ending, which he could not accept as he took the initiative to write 5 pages of script to change the ending.

The film company announced that THE LAST DANCE as of 11PM last night has accumulated over HK$ 20 million at he box office and has set 9 new records, including "the highest Hong Kong film opening day box office", "the highest Hong Kong film opening day admission rate", "the highest Hong Kong film opening day cumulative box office", "the most Hong Kong film opening day screenings", "the highest Hong Kong film single day admission rate", "the highest opening day box office of 2024", "the highest opening day admission rate of 2024", "the highest single day box office" and "the highest single day admission rate of 2024".

Director Anselm Chan Mou Yin after receiving the good news said, "Seeing such good results for THE LAST DANCE, I feel very encouraged. When thanking the audience, I heard the very heartwarming experience the audience shared. I sincerely hope that through THE LAST DANCE to send more positive messages and strength to the audience." Receiving highly acclaimed for her performance, Michelle Wai Sze Man said, "Being able to participate in this film is a very valuable experience, and the reaction and the enthusiastic response from the audience after the screenings is a great recognition for me. All the credit belongs to the director, and the entire team's effort. I would like to thank everyone in the audience for their support." Chan Mou Yin, Wai Sze Nga and Catherine Chau Ka Yee continued to go to the cinemas last night to thank the audience for their support.

Wong Tze Wah spoke with Sister Do earlier, and the interview was released in two episodes. The second episode was released the night before. Sister Do and Tze Wah collaborated on the TV series WAR OF THE GENDERS (NAM CHUN NUI OI), and the two talked about the past. Tze Wah said that Sister Do ignored him an entire morning for being late, and it was not until noon when he publicly apologized and bought lunch before Sister Do forgave him. Tze Wah mentioned that after he finished filming everyday, he rushed home because he had to change the script; he explained the reason for changing the script. When he was filming the drama YOU'RE HIRED with Charmaine Sheh Sze Man, he received the script for the ending -- a happy barbecue at the parking lot. He could not accept that such an ending, he looked for but could not find the screenwriter because he was on vacation. Finally he changed the whole ending and wrote a 5-page script. He did not think that his changes were particularly good, but he felt that a comedy should have a funny ending and not a barbecue.

Tze Wah said that he understood that under the TV station system, the screenwriter seemed to be rushing to catch a boat due to the very urgent pace; once the schedule was so rushed because filming was about to start, he had to make photocopies after changing it and distribute it to everyone on the set. Sister Do said that if the screenwriter did not allow him to change the script, he said that he would feel so painful. Thus his chances of filming another series were slim. He had watched some Korean dramas or American dramas that were able to keep all 20 episodes just as good. He also said that he rarely changed movie scripts. Like A GUILTY CONSCIENCE's Jack Ng Wai Lun and THE LAST DANCE'S Chan Mou Yin, their scripts were painstakingly sculpted over a lot of time.

Speaking of after 100 episodes, WAR OF THE GENDERS received a proposal from TVB to add 100 more episodes due to the good response. Tze Wah however thought that he would quit while he was ahead. Did he dislike making sequels for movies or series? He said that it was not that he did not want to make a sequel. He really wanted to start a sequel to A GUILTY CONSCIENCE but the director refused. Why did he not make TABLE FOR SIX 2? He declined to answer, saying that he would not answer this question in the next 10 years. He could not shoot it for some reasons, which were the most difficult to take since he started in the industry. Sister Do wanted him to answer, but Tze Wah resolutely refused. He said that he did not feel right about saying it. The two also revealed that someone has invited them to make a Lunar New Year film, but due to script problems they could not collaborate in the end. Whether they would be able to continue their relationship, a good script would determine that.