Kung Fu Girls, a zero-promotion domestic film with 2.16B box office, ranks 42nd in mainland China's all-time box office list. It will hit overseas markets soon.
With box office receipts of 2.16 billion yuan and virtually no marketing campaign, *Kung Fu Girls* currently ranks 42nd on the all-time mainland box office chart and is provisionally in second place for this year’s box office.
Before its release, the
film’s screenings were relegated to the far corners of theaters; by its fourth day in theaters, pirated copies were already circulating openly on secondhand platforms. At the same time, the film faced issues with theaters underreporting box office figures, resulting in a significant discrepancy between its ratings on Douban and Maoyan, with audience reviews showing a polarized response.
Despite facing obstacles from
the very start, this film managed to stay in theaters for 23 days after its release.Screenings
subsequently increased against the trend, and among the cumulative total of more than 60 million admissions, many were viewers who hadn’t set foot in a movie theater for years. With no celebrity endorsements or premiere events, the film relied entirely on word of mouth, and its box office ultimately surpassed the 2 billion mark.
Currently, the film’s daily box office revenue on weekdays has begun to decline, and it still trails *In the Octagon*—which ranks 41st—by 40 million. Whether it can catch up remains to be seen.
In three days, the film will hit overseas markets. Much like *Shaolin Soccer* in its day, this domestically produced film—which has gained recognition from general audiences—is about to be put to the test on the global stage.
Lately, it’s become common to hear people in neighborhood conversations mention this women’s soccer-themed film, which has neither the backing of social media influencers nor a significant marketing budget.
