Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted December 10, 2014 Member Share Posted December 10, 2014 Is there a list of what was the biggest hits and bombs for shaws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted December 11, 2014 Member Share Posted December 11, 2014 Is there a list of what was the biggest hits and bombs for shaws? Fantastic Magic Baby was a big flop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted December 11, 2014 Member Share Posted December 11, 2014 Guess it all depends on how one defines "hit/bomb." Its easy to look at the box office returns and say, these films were the biggest gainers and these were the biggest losers but that doesn't take in account a film's budget. Example, if A film made $1,000,000 and B film made $800,000, then A is the winner. But if A film cost $500,000 to make and B film only cost $150,000, then B film is the winner. Of course, since we don't have access to these production figures, we will never know what the company saw as a success and what was not. Artistically speaking, there's a whole other level of hit/bomb. Chang Cheh felt he didn't do justice to the Brave Archer films (in his mind, a bomb) but when Brave Archer Part 1 opened, critics raved about it (so, in their minds, a hit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted December 12, 2014 Author Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'd be curious in terms of dominating at the box office. For Example, Chang Cheh could have a "hit" or make a profit, but in comparison to Micheal Hui, he got crushed, at least this is my understanding. I've read that Chinese Boxer and Boxer From Shantung both did well at the box office. I'd be curious to see some lists of the top 20 for years 69'-75'. I think, after that, Kung fu movies were passe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted December 12, 2014 Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'd be curious in terms of dominating at the box office. For Example, Chang Cheh could have a "hit" or make a profit, but in comparison to Micheal Hui, he got crushed, at least this is my understanding. I've read that Chinese Boxer and Boxer From Shantung both did well at the box office. I'd be curious to see some lists of the top 20 for years 69'-75'. I think, after that, Kung fu movies were passe. I have a British book, Cinema of Vengeance, from 1974, which has a lot of interviews with HK film folk. By '74, the kung fu bubble had burst. I suspect Shaws made them as filler for their theatres, since the sets and costumes were already there. GH turned to sex-fu (The Association) and was kept afloat by the Huis. Most of the mid-70s GH kung fu films, such as the John Woos, were Korean co-productions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted December 12, 2014 Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 A bit off topic but I thought it was funny when I looked up my favorite movie Legend of a Fighter, and it only made $1.8 million in 1982. Was it a bomb? I'm not sure. Dragon Lord made $18 million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted December 12, 2014 Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 A bit off topic but I thought it was funny when I looked up my favorite movie Legend of a Fighter, and it only made $1.8 million in 1982. Was it a bomb? I'm not sure. Dragon Lord made $18 million. According to HMDB, The Young Master only made just over a million, yet the Jackie autobiography talks about Dragon Lord flopping. A typo, or hyper-inflation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted December 12, 2014 Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 According to HMDB, The Young Master only made just over a million, yet the Jackie autobiography talks about Dragon Lord flopping. A typo, or hyper-inflation? Dragon Lord made according to HKFA (I tend to trust their figures as I have found them the most accurate, when they have them) 10,936,344. It was not a flop. I'm not sure I trust HKMDB's figure on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted December 12, 2014 Author Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 I have a British book, Cinema of Vengeance, from 1974, which has a lot of interviews with HK film folk. By '74, the kung fu bubble had burst. I suspect Shaws made them as filler for their theatres, since the sets and costumes were already there. GH turned to sex-fu (The Association) and was kept afloat by the Huis. Most of the mid-70s GH kung fu films, such as the John Woos, were Korean co-productions. I had that book when I was a kid in the 70 s. It was awesome book and decently written for the time. I believe that the kung fu movies were pretty done by then. I think the Wu Xia movies overtook them. I don't know if Golden Harvest was really trying to do porn fu or anything I think they just were trying to tinker with the formula to figure out what would work. I think they were flirting with the idea of either using somebody famous in the United States or at least somebody internationally appealing. You have to give them credit for being open to international markets whereas Shaws was a little reactionary in that fact. After all they only really partnered with hammer and some other cheap companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted December 12, 2014 Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 I had that book when I was a kid in the 70 s. It was awesome book and decently written for the time. I believe that the kung fu movies were pretty done by then. I think the Wu Xia movies overtook them. I don't know if Golden Harvest was really trying to do porn fu or anything I think they just were trying to tinker with the formula to figure out what would work. I think they were flirting with the idea of either using somebody famous in the United States or at least somebody internationally appealing. You have to give them credit for being open to international markets whereas Shaws was a little reactionary in that fact. After all they only really partnered with hammer and some other cheap companies. Shaws did invest in some notable films, including Blade Runner. However, I think they were keen not to give their HK talent international attention, in case they wanted a pay rise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted December 12, 2014 Author Member Share Posted December 12, 2014 Shaws did invest in some notable films, including Blade Runner. However, I think they were keen not to give their HK talent international attention, in case they wanted a pay rise? Yes, that was probably a reason. I remember seeing CKT as a thug who is easily dispatched by Bryan Brown in TaiPan. I was thinking, "why would he take such a shitty role in a racist movie?" Money. Of course, on the flip side, how many of the stars from Shaw or Golden Harvest make the transition? Only Bruce Lee (already known somewhat in the US) and Jackie, from that era. There were lots of feeble attempts- Shatter, Stoner, etc that did not satisfy anyone. Poor scripts, 3rd to 4th rate actors and really rushed fight choreography. I realized when I got older that the British and American directors probably rushed through filming the fights in films like Shatter and Golden Needles as they probably did not take a long time setting up fights in American and British movies. So who would like the end result? Neither the kung fu fan or the average action fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted December 13, 2014 Member Share Posted December 13, 2014 I'd be curious in terms of dominating at the box office. For Example, Chang Cheh could have a "hit" or make a profit, but in comparison to Micheal Hui, he got crushed, at least this is my understanding. I've read that Chinese Boxer and Boxer From Shantung both did well at the box office. I'd be curious to see some lists of the top 20 for years 69'-75'. I think, after that, Kung fu movies were passe. Something like this....? 1 - Return Of One Armed Swordsman $ 1,295,394.20 2 - Dragon Swamp $ 1,200,385.30 3 - The Golden Sword $ 1,183,379.60 4 - Three Smiles $ 1,106,860.00 5 - Have Sword Will Travel $ 1,031,768.90 6 - Raw Courage $ 1,017,437.60 7- The Millionaire Chase $ 947,447.50 8 - The Invincible Fist $ 843,030.70 9 - Diary Of A Ladykiller $ 815,662.80 10 - The Flying Dagger $ 778,288.70 11 - Vengeance Is A Golden Blade $ 760,718.40 12 - Killers Five $ 691,411.00 13 - Singing Thief $ 655,378.40 14 - Deadly Coins $ 635,105.60 15 - The Swordmates $ 551,681.90 16 - Escort Over Tiger Hills $ 546,543.30 17 - Temptress Of 1000 Faces $ 543,858.90 18 - Raw Passions $ 539,675.20 19 - Dear Murderer $ 521,039.50 20 - Dark Rendezvous $ 519,393.40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted October 22, 2015 Member Share Posted October 22, 2015 Has anyone got a box office total for Jackie's The Young Master? It's way down the list on Movieworld's top 1980 HK movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted October 22, 2015 Member Share Posted October 22, 2015 Has anyone got a box office total for Jackie's The Young Master? It's way down the list on Movieworld's top 1980 HK movies.What is weird is that HKMDB has it at $1,026,282.50 which HKFA (I tend to trust their totals) does not have it. That really seems a bit low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted October 22, 2015 Member Share Posted October 22, 2015 Yes, it's way down the list for that year, whilst Battle Creek Brawl is at no.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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