Dilraba works with Stephen Chow for the first time on KUNG FU SOCCER courtesy of on.cc
Mainland actress Dilraba came to Hong Kong earlier to promote
the Stephen Chow Sing Chi directed new film KUNG FU SOCCER (GONG FU NUI
JOOK). She recently accepted a HOY interview to share her production
experience. Speaking of the first collaboration with Chow Sing Chi, she
admitted that when she first received the invitation phone call, she
once thought it was a scam. "At first, it was the producer or Sing
Yeh's assistant who called me about this matter, but I didn't see any
news on the Internet that Sing Yeh was making a new movie, so I thought
it wouldn't be. Later I got a call from Sing Yeh and he said, "How
are you, Raba.' Only after I heard his voice did I confirm it was
real. " As for Chow Sing Chi calling her "Ba Yeh", she immediately
denied, "No, it's rumor." She said that on the set, the director would
call everyone by their characters names so the actors could be even
more invested in their roles.
The Stephen Chow written and directed KUNG FU SOCCER two days ago officially opened in Hong Kong
Carina Lau looks forward to the performance of the century with Stephen Chow and Tony Leung Chiu Wai courtesy of mingpao.com
The Stephen Chow Sing Chi written and directed film KUNG
FU SOCCER (GONG FU NUI JOOK) starred Carina Lau Ka Ling, Zhang Xiaofei,
Dilraba, Lay Zhang Yixing, Sisley Choi Si Bui, etcs. After over a month
in release in the mainland the film has collected over 2.2 billion RMB
(around HK$ 2.6 billion). The film two days ago officially opened in
Hong Kong. The first day audience response was not overwhelming, with
a box office of around 1.1 million. With the earlier advanced
screenings the film collected 1.4 million. In comparison to Chow Sing
Chi's preious film, NEW KING OF COMEDY was released 7 years ago on
February 5th 2019 (Lunar New Year's Day) for the Hong Kong Lunar New
Year film slot, invited Cecilia Cheung Pak Chi and Fama to provide their
voices to the Cantonese version. The opening day box office was around
3.5 million, the cumulative Hong Kong box office was around 21.97
million and the film was the four highest grossing Chinese film in
Hong Kong in 2019.
Lau Ka Lng recently talked about her role in KUNG FU SOCCER,
which did not feel difficulty at all. She wanted to ask why was she
kept from playing soccer on the field? If there would be a sequel she
would like to. If there was a chance for her Best Actor husband Tony
Leung Chiu Wai and Stephen Chow Sing Chi to perform together, what kind
of movie would it be? She asked instead whether it was possible? If
it was it would be a very exciting film that would be well worth
everyone to look forward to. She once mentioned this while drinking
with Chow Sing Chi, and joked that if she could truly make it happen,
she would truly be the "mericless head nun"!
Stephen Chow leads Carina Lau, Dilraba, Sisley Choi, Louis Cheung and others to cinemas to thank the audience
Online ticket sales show SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY has more shows than KUNG FU SOCCER, the red indicates sold out
KUNG FU SOCCER's 5:30 PM show at 3 PM still hasn't sold out, the 10:05 PM show also has a lot of tickets
Gen Z Ms. Lo brings her soccer loving little brother to watch KUNG FU SOCCER
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY exceeds HK$ 75 million at the Hong Kong box office courtesy of mingpao.com
Stephen Chow Sing Chi after many years wrote and directed KUNG FU SOCCER (GONG FU NUI JOOK), which collected 2.2 billion RMB
(around HK$ 2.5 billion) and reached the top of the mainland 2026 summer
box office. However the audience reviews have been polarized. KUNG FU
SOCCER yesterday opened in Hong Kong, with over 270 shows all day.
Reporters visited cinemas to observe admission and the response was not
too enthusiastic, as no show was sold out. Marvel's superhero film
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY exceeded HK$ 75 million at the Hong Kong box
office, with almost twice as many shows as KUNG FU SOCCER. With strong
competition, KUNG FU SOCCER's box office might very likely be impacted.
Hong Kong audience's review for KUNG FU SOCCER has been mixed. Chow
Sing Chi's die hard fans admitted that they were not too pleased, with
few punchlines and the Putonghua dialogue gave them difficulties in
getting invested; Gen Z viewers felt that for a comedy it was still
funny, the matches were exciting.
Chow Sing Chi recently has been actively promoting KUNG FU
SOCCER. After completing the mainland tour, earlier he led Carina Lau
Ka Ling, Dilraba, Sisley Choi Si Bui, Louis Cheung Kai Chung, the new
generation "Sing Girl" Xue Yue, Angel Woo and Lam Tsz Chung to attend
the KUNG FU SOCCER Hong Kong audience appreciation screenings and
premiere to promote.
KUNG FU SOCCER opened in Hong Kong yesterday. The audience
seemed less passionate than with previous Chow Sing Chi films. With
over 270 shows, none were sold out. In contrast after two weeks in
release SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY had over 480 shows, as of 7PM last
night it has collected HK$ 75 million. Its momentum continued to be
strong and many shows were almost sold out.
With less shows than SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, KUNG FU
SOCCER sold half the tickets at most of its show. Reporters visited
cinemas yesterday afternoon for observation, KUNG FU SOCCER's momentum
obviously paled in comparison to its mainland opening. Aside from not
selling out every show, most of the audience were middle aged and
older. By the afternoon evening shows only sold a fraction of its
tickets. At night the situation improved, with many sold half its
tickets or more.
Ms. Lo yesterday afternoon brought her 9 year old little brother
to the show, saying the reason was only the subject was soccer and not
supporting Chow Sing Chi. "Because we are free, Little Brother likes to
play soccer so I take him to watch it. I was born in 2006, so I haven't
really seen Chow Sing Chi's movies and I am not a Chow Sing Chi fan. In
the film I only recognize lead actresses Zhang Xiaofei and Dilraba
because I have seen their work. I see many older people come to watch
the movie, they probably are Chow Sing Chi fans." She felt that for a
comedy, it was still funny. The most impressive was the final match.
"Very exciting, and Takeru Satoh is really very handsome."
Unwilling to appear on camera, Mr. Chan admitted that he bought
tickets because of Chow Sing Chi. He has been a Chow Sing Chi fan for
years and admitted that he was not too pleased with this work of his
idol. Few spots made him laugh in the film, and Putonghua made the
movie difficult for him to get invested in.
Aside from the mainland and Macau, KUNG FU SOCCER is opening
around the world in almost 30 countries and regions. They included
Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, the U.S., England and
Canada. On the 6th it opened in Singapore to over HK$ 11 million, many
shows were sold out and the performance was decent.
10 UNIDENTIFIED MURDER
Can : UFO Lei Kei Ming Ong
d. Kwok Ka Hei, Lee Chun Kit
Ling Man Lung, Renci Yeung Sze Wing,
Ronald Lam Tsz Kit, Peter Chan Charm Man,
Kenny Wong Tak Bun, Alan Luk Chun Kwong, Jim Hui Chun Pong
Rating : IIB
Length : 85 mins.
Opening November 4 2025 at the 22nd Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (10.22-11.09) (SURPRISE SCREENING)
Opening December 13 2025 (Preview)
Opening March 26 2026 (POSTPONED)
Opening July 4 2026
Trailer : https://youtu.be/8zSOV_9ubQQ
[ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ]
Alien Alert!!!
An influencer couple staged a harmless prank in pursuit of clicks and
like. Little do they know, their little escapade has gone out of
control, spiraling into a real tragedy. A series of accidents,
followed by blackmails and Extraterrestrial Encounters somehow echoes
and unveils the myth of a mysterious child disappearance 25 years
ago!
A group of five, a chain of bizarre events and layers of schemes and
plot twist. It's all-you-can-experience in One Crazy Night!
9 DETECTIVE CONAN: FALLEN ANGEL OF THE HIGHWAY
AKA: DETECTIVE CONAN: HIGHWAY NO DATENSHI
d. Takahiro Hasui
Japanese Animation
Rating : IIA
Length : 109 mins.
Opening July 9 2026
[ ODEON UK ]
When a string of deadly highway incidents begin, Conan Edogawa's
investigations point towards an orchestrated plot rather than mere
accidents. As he uncovers a conspiracy involving hidden identities
and advanced technology, the case escalates into a high-speed race
against time to stop a calculating mastermind before more lives are
lost.
8 DEAR YOU
d. Lan Hongchun
Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi,
Wang Xiaohui, Usha Seamkhum
Rating : IIA
Opening June 18 2026
Trailer : https://youtu.be/ovpTuAxkGdI
[ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ]
When Xiaowei secretly travels to Thailand to find his supposedly
wealthy grandfather, he uncovers a family-shattering secret: his
grandfather passed away fifty years ago. For decades, the moving
love letters that sustained his grandmother Shurou's hopes were
written by a complete stranger. This unexpected investigation
unveils a breathtaking, half-century-old romance that deeply
shakes the grandmother's heart.
7 OBSESSION
d. Curry Barker
Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless
6 MINIONS VS. MONSTERS
d. Pierre Coffin
Illumination Animation
English Voices: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker,
Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges,
Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr
5 TOY STORY 5
d. Andrew Stanton
Disney Pixar Animation
English Voices: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
Cantonese Voices: Dicky Cheung Wai Kin, Sean Lau Ching Wan, Joey Yung Cho Yi
4 DORAEMON THE MOVIE: NEW NOBITA AND THE CASTLE OF THE UNDERSEA DEVIL
d. Tetsuo Yajima
Japanese Animation
Rating : I
Opening July 16 2026
Trailer : https://youtu.be/n91pNXvD18M
[ CINEMA CITY ]
Nobita and friends find a secret underwater castle packed with
mysteries and riches. With Doraemon's gadgets, they dive into an
ocean adventure mixing humor, teamwork, and imagination in a
breathtaking aquatic world.
3 CHIIKAWA THE MOVIE: THE SECRET OF THE MERMAID ISLAND
d. Kei Oikawa
Japanese Animation
Rating : I
Length : 99 mins.
Opening August 6 2026
Trailer : https://youtu.be/UOEzYpgt2as
[ CINEMA CITY ]
One day, while Chiikawa and Hachiware are relaxing in the plaza,
Usagi suddenly arrives with a flyer slapped onto Usagi's face.
Checking the flyer, Hachiware discovers it is an invitation with the
words: "An Invitation to a Special Island."
Lured by the tempting words on the flyer, Chiikawa and friends decide
to join the island training camp. Boarding the ship alongside Rakko,
who remains suspicious of the flyer's claims, the group sets foot on
the island and receives a grand, warm welcome from the Island
residents.
While spending a wonderful time together, Chiikawa and friends are
suddenly told a shocking truth: a massive "Siren" living on the
island has been abducting the Island residents one after another.
Before long, the group gets swept into the plan to subjugate the
Siren. Trial after trial awaits Chiikawa and the others as the group
pushes forward with earnest determination.
Can everyone overcome these hardships together...?! And what exactly
is the true "secret" hidden on this island...?!
2 THE ODYSSEY
d. Christopher Nolan
Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson,
Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron
1 SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY
d. Destin Daniel Cretton
Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon,
Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman,
Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo
Michelle Wai returns to Hong Kong and poses with the award at the airport
Michelle Wai after accepting the award is caught taking the award off stage alone
Michelle Wai's husband picks her up at the airport with flowers
Michelle Wai (left) with 51 votes overwhelms the 26 vote recipient Gao Ye (circle) and the 18 vote recipient Song Jia (right) to win the Hundred Flowers Awards Best Actress
Michelle Wai (left) admits that she only knows two actors at the awards, one of whom is Zhu Yilong (right) courtesy of mingpao.com
Michelle Wai Sze Nga with the film THE LAST DANCE (POR.
DEI YUK) two nights ago won Best Actress at the 38th Hundred Flowers
Awards in Beijing two nights ago and became the first Hong Kong actress
to receive the honor. Her overwhelming victory over mainland Best
Actress class opponents like Song Jia and Ma Li was considered a
urprise. Wai Sze Nga looked stunned and emotional before she went to
the stage. Because Wai Sze Nga was a relative stranger to mainland,
some noticed that as the winners congratulated each other on the stage,
she left alone with the award from the crowd and created a strong
contrast. Wai Sze Nga last night returned from Beijing and spoke at the
airport. She admitted that she never thought she would win with a high
vote count, once worrying that she would have "zero vote". As for
leaving the stage alone, she said that she only knew Tony Leung Ka Fai
and Zhu Yilong there. At the time because of the floor was very
slippery, she kept looking down. She was not upset.
Wai Sze Nga last night returned to Hong Kong from Beijing.
Originally arriving at 5 PM, due to a Beijing storm warning the arrival
was postponed until almost 10 PM. Her doctor husband Chow Chi On
picked her up at the airport. Wai Sze Nga said that she was very happy
and honored to win the award, saying that she never expected to win with
a high vote count before hand. She even worried about the embarrassment
of getting "zero vote". "The voting was live. I saw the vote count
jumped so fast that I couldn't catch up. At the award winning moment I
was completely stunned." Some said that she won as the dark horse,
after her acceptance she alone left the stage. Wai Sze Nga said that
she was not upset. "I only knew Leung Ka Fai and Zhu Yilong there. As
for leaving the stage after accepting the award. Because the floor was
very slippery, I was afraid of falling so I kept looking down. Actually
at the time I was very happy."
The Hundred Flower Awards in the earliest stage was open to
audience voting, then the voting determined each category's nominees.
Then the openly selected 101 national viewer jury would be the final
jury at the award ceremony itself. They were non professional film
critics who voted live. Then the awards have been recognized as
"extremely high quality gold" and publicly recognized results. The top
five in the Best Actress category were THE LAST DANCE's Wai Sze Nga
with 51 votes, DEAD TO RIGHTS' Gao Ye with 26 votes, HER STORY and SCARE
OUT's Song Jia with 18 votes, SUCCESSOR's Ma Li with 2 votes and THE
LYCHEE ROAD's Zhuang Dafei with 1 vote.
Wai Sze Nga earlier was injured while working on the series LIES
HUNTER and had 50 stitches on her left lip. After removing the stitches
she immediately rushed to Beijing to attend the Hundred Flowers Awards.
Two nights ago she had bandages on her lip and the swelling has not
completely gone down. Yesterday she posted her award photos on social
platforms. "I am very happy and honored to be able to receive the 38th
Hundred Flowers Awards Best Actress. Thank you to the entire THE LAST
DANCE team, every colleague in the cast and the crew. Without
everyone's mutual support, this character wouldn't be here. Thank you
to the company's Dr. Yeung (Albert Yeung Sau Sing) and Mani (Fok Man
Hei) for their years of cultivation......in the actin process, there
have been laughters and setbacks. My passion for performing has propped
myself up to firmly protect my original intent. From now on I would
embrace this passion and continue to immerse myself, try even more
different stories, create even more vivid, powerful characters, I
wouldn't disappoint everyone's trust and expectations!"
THE LAST DANCE's director Anselm Chan Mou Yin was working in
Hong Kong and did not go to Beijing. He responded, "I got the news last
night. I have sent a text to Michelle to congratulate her. She
absolutely deserves the honor. At the same time I wish her flying even
higher. Seeing THE LAST DANE team receiving recognitions at many
places, I am greatly encouraged."
Wai Sze Nga with THE LAST DANCE won Best Actress at the Huading
Awards, Asia Pacific Film Festival, Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild and
Hong Kong Film Awards among others. Mainland internet hotly debated
Wai Sze Nga defeating popular actors Song Jia and Gao Ye. Some
commented, "Completely unexpected result! I originally thought Gao Ye
would win for sure. In the end he recipient was the relatively less
known in the mainland Wai Sze Nga. This year's' Hundred Flowers Awards
Best Actress truly broke through everyone's expectations. This award
was the audience jury's professional recognition of the character
building, in addition brought the mainland film industry even more
dimensions of actor faces." Some said that THE LAST DANCE's mainland
box office was only alredy 200 million RMB. Although Wai Sze Nga's
award was a surprise, it was well deserved. This was the audience's
choice. Some also praised her performance in THE LAST DANCE as
delicate, in particular her "Hell Breaking" ceremony was rated as a god
class performance. She was completely fitting to win Best Actress.
Stephen Chow, Lam Tsz Chung, Sisley Choi and Louis Cheung promote their new film in an interview courtesy of on.cc
Maria Lai jokes that Carina Lau has become her "strongest asist" as they interrogate Stephen Chow one after another courtesy of mingpao.com
The Stephen Chow Sing Chi written and directed new film KUNG FU
SOCCER (GONG FU NUI JOOK) has been a big mainland box office hit, the
film would open in Hong Kong tomorrow. Earlier Chow Sing Chi made an
extremely rare appearance on the TVB Entertainment interview program
STAR WEEKLY and accepted an interview with Maria Lai Chi Shan. Chow
Sing Chi and co-director Lam Tsz Chung, actors Carina Lau Ka Ling,
Sisley Choi Si Bui and Louis Cheung Kai Chung appeared together. It was
Choi Si Bui's first "home" interview since leaving TVB. The program
would air on the 16th.
Lai Chi Shan said, "We thought that sending me would have a
higher success rate, who knew we really succeeded. Maybe he saw someone
familiar and agreed." After the completion of the visit, Chi Shan
revealed that her connection with Chow Sing Chi began with the
children's program "430 SPACE SHUTTLE". She recalled that when she just
joined the program at that time, during her introduction he
"nonsensically" went to play with jellyfish. She also praised Chow Sing
Chi for being able to dramatize life's trivialities anytime, anywhere,
with very high creative and observation abilities. He even treated her
like a "punch line tester" to test jokes. Chi Shan frankly said that
interviewing Chow Sing Chi had psychological pressure, the difficulty
index was 8 points as she worried that he would only say a few words.
Yet after meeting it felt like seeing old friends. "After we started
all the worries were gone, because as soon as he got into the studio he
greeted everyone. It felt like seeing an old friend." She even
revealed that every time he saw her, the first thing he must ask was,
"Why your appearance hasn't changed at all?" and made Chi Shan very
happy. She revealed that because Lau Ka Ling was also present, Lau
became her "strongest assist'. Whenever she ran into subjects Chow Sing
Chi wanted to avoid, Lau Ka Ling would continue the attack. Chow Sing
Chi under her and Lau Ka Ling's assault agreed to an unprecedented
feat.
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