Member HsuYinFong Posted June 17, 2015 Member Share Posted June 17, 2015 I've been re-watching some of Lau Kar-Leung's work lately, and I'm curious how his Shaw Bros. movies do at the box office? He's obviously got a respectable reputation these days, and his films are well-regarded, but how did they do commercially? (I'm particularly curious about Heroes of the East on account of the way he depicted the Japanese in that one.) I'm not looking for specific numbers - just whether they were box office successes or flops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted June 17, 2015 Member Share Posted June 17, 2015 HOTE is one of my favorite films and finished tenth overall at the HK box office the year it was released. Slightly under $2.5 million. Of course, those numbers are only for HK theaters and don't include receipts from other countries. Production costs are figures we rarely hear about, so its hard to say if it was a financial flop or success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member panku Posted June 17, 2015 Member Share Posted June 17, 2015 Here are the release dates and Hong Kong box office figures from the Hong Kong Film Archive: The Spiritual Boxer (1975 11 28) HK$ 1,419,441 Challenge of the Masters (1976 05 07) HK$ 1,417,741 Executioners from Shaolin (1977 02 16) HK$ 2,655,185 The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978 02 02) HK$ 2,965,013 Breakout from Oppression (1978 06 22) Shaolin Mantis (1978 06 28) HK$ 1,620,656 Heroes of the East (1978 12 30) HK$ 2,467,722 The Shadow Boxing (1979 02 15) HK$ 1,271,091 Dirty Ho (1979 04 08) Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979 10 05) HK$ 2,002,800 Return to the 36th Chamber (1980 08 24) My Young Auntie (1981 01 01) HK$ 3,346,256 Martial Club (1981 08 20) Legendary Weapons of China (1982 01 21) HK$ 9,913,242 Cat vs Rat (1982 09 30) The Lady is the Boss (1983 03 31) HK$ 5,077,592 The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984 02 17) HK$ 3,792,852 Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985 05 17) HK$ 1,595,033 Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986 02 01) HK$ 18,106,589 Tiger on Beat (1988 03 19) HK$ 27,865,158 Aces Go Places V (1989 01 28) HK$ 20,032,206 Tiger on the Beat 2 (1990 02 10) HK$ 8,682,242 Drunken Master II (1994 02 03) HK$ 40,971,484 Drunken Master III (1994 07 02) HK$ 7,076,791 Drunken Monkey (2003 05 22) HK$ 153,560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted June 18, 2015 Member Share Posted June 18, 2015 Here are the release dates and Hong Kong box office figures from the Hong Kong Film Archive: The Spiritual Boxer (1975 11 28) HK$ 1,419,441 Challenge of the Masters (1976 05 07) HK$ 1,417,741 Executioners from Shaolin (1977 02 16) HK$ 2,655,185 The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978 02 02) HK$ 2,965,013 Breakout from Oppression (1978 06 22) Shaolin Mantis (1978 06 28) HK$ 1,620,656 Heroes of the East (1978 12 30) HK$ 2,467,722 The Shadow Boxing (1979 02 15) HK$ 1,271,091 Dirty Ho (1979 04 08) Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979 10 05) HK$ 2,002,800 Return to the 36th Chamber (1980 08 24) My Young Auntie (1981 01 01) HK$ 3,346,256 Martial Club (1981 08 20) Legendary Weapons of China (1982 01 21) HK$ 9,913,242 Cat vs Rat (1982 09 30) The Lady is the Boss (1983 03 31) HK$ 5,077,592 The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984 02 17) HK$ 3,792,852 Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985 05 17) HK$ 1,595,033 Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986 02 01) HK$ 18,106,589 Tiger on Beat (1988 03 19) HK$ 27,865,158 Aces Go Places V (1989 01 28) HK$ 20,032,206 Tiger on the Beat 2 (1990 02 10) HK$ 8,682,242 Drunken Master II (1994 02 03) HK$ 40,971,484 Drunken Master III (1994 07 02) HK$ 7,076,791 Drunken Monkey (2003 05 22) HK$ 153,560 Not to derail the thread, here. But, why is it that the Shaw films are so hard to figure out what is released when? According to the Hong Kong Film Archive list listed here, Celestial would be wrong about the release order of some of the Shaws films. And, I think that it is even worse for Chang Cheh`s films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HsuYinFong Posted June 18, 2015 Author Member Share Posted June 18, 2015 Thanks! This is what I was looking for. Also, reason108, HKMDB has a release date for HOTE as 12/30/1978, so maybe try there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member panku Posted June 19, 2015 Member Share Posted June 19, 2015 Not to derail the thread, here. But, why is it that the Shaw films are so hard to figure out what is released when? According to the Hong Kong Film Archive list listed here, Celestial would be wrong about the release order of some of the Shaws films. And, I think that it is even worse for Chang Cheh`s films.Where are the Celestial dates you mention? I don't think I've ever seen an official Celestial list of original release dates. The list I posted is for the dates the films opened in Hong Kong. It is possible that this order is different from the production order, as that is the case with a few Chang Cheh films such as Heaven and Hell (started in 1975 released in 1980), Life Gamble and Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (both started in 1977 released in 1979 and 1980 respectively). Also some were held back from release for one reason or another such as Kid With the Golden Arm so this is the cause of some confusion. Breakout from Oppression is obviously shot much earlier than 1978 but this was the date it opend in Hong Kong, most likely a shelved film that was released to cash in on Lau's recent success and released just a few days before his new film was to open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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