Page 30 - 174 Varsity ebook
P. 30

/ 29

        28 /
        28 /                                                                                                                                                                                                                  / 29
                niversity student Oscar Seyau                                                                                                                                                    ing at HK$1.34 billion (US $172.5
                Tsz-wing  goes  to  the  movie                                                                                                                                                   million), since 2013. Earnings were
        Utheatre twice a month, and                                                                                                                                                              down by 6.2 per cent when compared
        two Hong Kong blockbusters, ‘The                                                                                                                                                         with the HK$1.43 billion (US $183.6
        Last Dance’ and ‘Twilight of the War-                                                                                                                                                    million) earned in 2023.
        riors: Walled In’ are his favourites.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    In 2025, during the Lunar New
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Year holiday, the box office revenue
                                                                                                                                                                                                 stood at HK$30 million, a staggering
                                                                                                                                                                                                 40 per cent drop from the HK$41 mil-
                                                                                                                                                                                                 lion generated during the same time
                                                                                                                                                                                                 period in 2024.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    The city has recently seen the clo-
                                                                                                                                                                                                 sure of eight movie theatres across
                                                                                                                                                                                                 various districts, including two Gold-
            The Last Dance exhibition at                                                                                                                                                         en Harvest cinemas in Kai Tak and
                  Sham Shui Po
               (Photo courtesy of Oscar                                                                                                                                                          Nam Cheong, and MCL Cinemas
                      Seyau)                                                                                                                                                                     Plus+ Plaza Hollywood in Diamond
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Hill leaving 267 movie theatres in
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Hong Kong, according to the Hong
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Kong Theatres Association.
                                                             Dayo Wong (left) and Michael Hui in                                      Louis Koo in Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
                                                         The Last Dance, which earned more than                                     (Photo courtesy of Entertaining Power Co Limited)               Hong Kong cinema chain Golden
                                                                   $122 million in 2024                                                                                                          Harvest has reduced ticket prices to as
                                                             (Photo courtesy of Emperor Motion )                                                                                                 low as HK$20 (US $2.60).

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Professor Chan Ka-ming of com-
                                                                                                                           entry for the category of best interna-  what Hong Kong so-           munications at the Chinese University
            The Last Dance movie poster     in films. The cinematic experience of                                          tional feature film at the 2025 Oscars.  ciety was like in the        of Hong Kong (CUHK) and former
             at My Cinema Yoho Mall         a film is a unique feeling,” the 20-year-  The Last Dance becomes the 4th                                                                            film critic, believes that the pandemic
                                                                                                                              Associate Professor  Dorothy Lau
               (Photo courtesy of Oscar     old student says.                   highest-grossing film in Hong Kong,        at the Academy of Film at Hong Kong  past - when human                has a long-lasting impact on the Hong
                      Seyau)                                                    after Avengers: Infinity War. For the                                                                            Kong film industry. 
                                                                                                                           that movies about Hong Kong are  relationships were
                                               Seyau thinks it is important to  first time since 2004, the Hong Kong       Baptist University (HKBU) believes
           “As  a  Hong  Konger,  I  feel  very  preserve the city’s unique culture and  box office surpassed Hollywood’s box                                                                       “Many people couldn’t go to the
        proud of the Hong Kong movie indus-  Hong Kongers should support the  office in 2024.                              popular among moviegoers.            very close. We can               cinema during the pandemic, so they
        try. Many films featuring ordinary cit-  movie  industry  simply  by  watching                                                                                                           watched films through Netflix and
        izens in the city have become popular.  movies in theatres more often.    ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled           Citing the latest blockbuster, Twi-  find solidarity. We           Disney+. This is a global phenom-
        My family and friends who don’t usu-                                    In’, an action flick about the notori-     light of the Warriors: Walled In, as an                               enon, and their film film-watching
        ally watch movies also go to the thea-  “The Last Dance” is crowned as the  ous Kowloon Walled City, has earned    example, Lau says the movie creates   can find kindness.              habit has changed,” Chan says, add-
        tre to watch ‘The Last Dance’ three  highest-grossing  Chinese-language  HK$105 million (US $13.5 million)         “an environment that can make audi-                                   ing that consumers are still glued to
        times,” the engineering major says.  film in Hong Kong history.         and become the second-highest-             ences recall Hong Kong in the past”.  We can find mutual              streaming services now. 
                                                                                grossing Chinese language of all time                                                     help,”
           “I really like the cinematography   The movie, based on the city’s fu-  in Hong Kong.                            “The fictional Kow-                                                     According to Pricewaterhouse-
        of Hong Kong movies and how they  neral trade and family traditions, had                                                                                                                 Coopers (PwC), a leading profession-
        present elements of daily lives in the  the highest opening day for any Hong   The action and martial arts ele-     loon Walled City in                 While some movies have an im-    al services firm that provides a wide
        city on a big screen. I can resonate  Kong film and has earned more than  ments pay homage to the long his-                                          pressive performance in the box of-  range of services including audit and
        with the film and relate to emotions  HK$158 million (US $15.7 million) as  tory of Hong Kong kung-fu movies. It     the movie mirrors               fice, the city’s film industry has seen  consulting, Hong Kong’s Over-The-
        and struggles characters go through  of February 2025.                  has been put forward as Hong Kong’s                                          the lowest box office revenue, stand-  Top (OTT) Video market, which in-
                                                                                                                                                                                                 cludes streaming services that provide
   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35