Buzz
Over the span of 6 years, martial arts star Thành Long has consecutively produced 6 cinematic works, with budgets totaling hundreds of millions of USD. However, all of his projects have incurred losses, and the Thành Long brand has lost its allure.
QQ reports that Thành Long's latest film, Hidden Strike, co-starring international star John Cena, failed to be screened in China. The international revenue performance of the film was dismal, amounting to only about 5 million USD, resulting in Thành Long facing losses exceeding 500 million NDT (almost 70 million USD).
According to QQ, even if Hidden Strike were to be screened in China, the revenue outlook wouldn't be promising due to poor reviews. The film is perceived to be riding on the success of Ngô Kinh's Wolf Warrior 2, but it lacks appeal to mainland Chinese audiences.
Thành Long has now become a name that struggles to draw audiences to theaters due to consecutive failures. Moreover, Hidden Strike demonstrates that Thành Long's influence in international markets is also waning.
'Whether Thành Long's films are good or bad, no one seems to care anymore, and this is truly concerning,' commented QQ.
Thành Long himself admits to losing 1.9 billion NDT (over 260 million USD) over the past 6 years due to failed film projects such as The Outsider with a loss of 300 million NDT, Ghost Detective Bồ Tùng Linh only making 160 million NDT in revenue while production costs were 350 million NDT. Secret Seal of Dragons, a collaboration with Hollywood stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Charles Dance, globally grossed only 9.19 million USD, with a production cost of 50 million USD, resulting in a loss of over 45 million USD.
By the end of 2022, Thành Long presented the film Spirit Horse Dragon. The actor invited Ngô Kinh to participate as a guest star to attract audiences. However, the film's theme lacked appeal and struggled to compete with other blockbusters released during the Lunar New Year. The film only earned 210 million NDT, resulting in a loss of over 230 million NDT.
It's worth noting that none of Thành Long's works have received quality ratings above 5 on Douban, indicating the declining reputation of the martial arts star.
Upcoming projects for Thành Long include Legend - a sequel to the beloved classic Myth, the Plan P project just started shooting, and the animated film Special Forces Panda set to collaborate with Ngô Kinh. Audiences are concerned that the actor will continue to incur losses if he doesn't choose suitable roles and introduce new artistic innovations.
