Hong Kongers flock to movie theatres for blockbusters amid the poorest film industry performance in 13 years
By Swara Sanket Kamble
University student Oscar Seyau Tsz-wing goes to the movie theatre twice a month, and two Hong Kong blockbusters, ‘The Last Dance’ and ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ are his favourites.
“As a Hong Konger, I feel very proud of the Hong Kong movie industry. Many films featuring ordinary citizens in the city have become popular. My family and friends who don’t usually watch movies also go to the theatre to watch ‘The Last Dance’ three times,” the engineering major says.
“I really like the cinematography of Hong Kong movies and how they present elements of daily lives in the city on a big screen. I can resonate with the film and relate to emotions and struggles characters go through in films. The cinematic experience of a film is a unique feeling,” the 20-year-old student says.
Seyau thinks it is important to preserve the city’s unique culture and Hong Kongers should support the movie industry simply by watching movies in theatres more often.
“The Last Dance” is crowned as the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong history.
The movie, based on the city’s funeral trade and family traditions, had the highest opening day for any Hong Kong film and has earned more than HK$158 million (US $15.7 million) as of February 2025.
The Last Dance becomes the 4th highest-grossing film in Hong Kong, after Avengers: Infinity War. For the first time since 2004, the Hong Kong box office surpassed Hollywood’s box office in 2024.
‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’, an action flick about the notorious Kowloon Walled City, has earned HK$105 million (US $13.5 million) and become the second-highest-grossing Chinese language of all time in Hong Kong.
(Photo courtesy of Entertaining Power Co Limited)
The action and martial arts elements pay homage to the long history of Hong Kong kung-fu movies. It has been put forward as Hong Kong’s entry for the category of best international feature film at the 2025 Oscars.
Associate Professor Dorothy Lau at the Academy of Film at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) believes that movies about Hong Kong are popular among moviegoers.
Citing the latest blockbuster, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, as an example, Lau says the movie creates “an environment that can make audiences recall Hong Kong in the past”.
“The fictional Kowloon Walled City in the movie mirrors what Hong Kong society was like in the past – when human relationships were very close. We can find solidarity. We can find kindness. We can find mutual help,” she says.
While some movies have an impressive performance in the box office, the city’s film industry has seen the lowest box office revenue, standing at HK$1.34 billion (US $172.5 million), since 2013. Earnings were down by 6.2 per cent when compared with the HK$1.43 billion (US $183.6 million) earned in 2023.
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 million generated during the same time period in 2024.
The city has recently seen the closure of eight movie theatres across various districts, including two Golden Harvest cinemas in Kai Tak and Nam Cheong, and MCL Cinemas Plus+ Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill leaving 267 movie theatres in Hong Kong, according to the Hong Kong Theatres Association.
Hong Kong cinema chain Golden Harvest has reduced ticket prices to as low as HK$20 (US $2.60).
Professor Chan Ka-ming of communications at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and former film critic, believes that the pandemic has a long-lasting impact on the Hong Kong film industry.
“Many people couldn’t go to the cinema during the pandemic, so they watched films through Netflix and Disney+. This is a global phenomenon, and their film film-watching habit has changed,” Chan says, adding that consumers are still glued to streaming services now.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a leading professional services firm that provides a wide range of services including audit and consulting, Hong Kong’s Over-The-Top (OTT) Video market, which includes streaming services that provide video, audio, and other media content directly to users through various devices like smartphones, has grown rapidly in the last few years, reaching HK$4.3 billion (US $557 million) in 2025.
Subscription streaming services represent close to 84% of total OTT revenue in Hong Kong and are on course to increase to over 85% in 2028.
Apart from the change of habit, Chan points out that room for creativity is another major factor that has affected the Hong Kong movie industry.
“We can see that the industry seems to be going downhill. In the 80s and 90s there was no intervention in the film industry. Now, the contexts have changed. The industry is very different as there are many limitations,” he says.
Hong Kong’s legislature passed the film censorship law in 2021. The law bans films that violate China’s national security interests. Punishment for violating the law includes up to three years of imprisonment and fines of up to HK$1 million (US $128,400).
Director Norris Wong, best known for her 2023 movie ‘The Lyricist Wannabe’, says that many independent filmmakers like herself are facing difficulties such as the lack of filmmaking training and filming equipment, including high-quality cameras, and audio equipment due to budget concerns.
“Independent filmmakers can only make low-budget films due to limited funding. Also, government regulations, like the national security law screening, are stricter now, affecting creative freedom,” she says.
Wong believes that Hong Kong cannot go back to the good old days like the 80s due to streaming services and the passing of the 2021 bill.
Drawing on the example of Korean entertainment, which benefits from substantial government funding, she argues that Hong Kong’s government support is crucial for the industry’s success.
The Film Development Fund has provided financial support to 100 films in the last two decades. In May 2024, the government further injected about $1.4 billion into the fund to support the industry, according to the Hong Kong Film Development Council.
“Audiences also need to support with our feet by going to cinemas to watch films,” Wong says.
Edited by Yika Ng
Sub-edited by Angel Yu
