What started the current resurgence of interest in classic HK action movies?

[Brucemee]

I've been wondering for the last couple years, what brought on the newly revived interest in HK action movies from, say, the 1980s through the early to mid 90s? The abundance of titles that have been & continue to be re-released in better quality, in competitively more "special"/spectacular special additions from multiple companies (88 Films, Eureka!, Shout Factory, etc.), what initially generated the interest in the current marketplace for this kind of material? Though I've been a fan, myself, since I first saw a Bruce Lee movie in the late 70s  (we're not all young whipper snappers here! :)), I remember public interest in the movies of Jackie Chan & company broadening in the late 80s when The Incredibly Strange Films show (or rather The Son Of The Incredibly Strange Films show) first exposed Jackie's work to fresh eyes around the world, then much more so a few years later when Rumble In The Bronx made an impact worldwide, but what was the catalyst for the current renewal in interest?

I can't think of one particular movie released in the last few years that I would've thought would create a new generation of fans (maybe I'm wrong; was it the Ip Man movies, maybe Tony Jaa's Ong Bak? The Raid films?), though there have been some pretty good action/martial arts movies out of Asia in the last decade or so I don't think of them as classics like I do of the stuff Jackie, Sammo, Yuen Biao, Jet Li, etc.  were starring in, say 30 or 35 years ago. I wouldn't think that just  the rights to these movies now being available to companies like 88 Films would assure them that they would have enough potential buyers to make their (much appreciated) efforts worthwhile. So what exactly initiated this current marketplace for all these "old" movies I grew up loving so much? Any opinions?

[Koravec]

Maybe it has less to do with kung fu movies as a genre and more to do with these companies just reaching their prime ability of putting out a ton of old classics? Thats my best guess anyway, could be wrong.

[J.J. Hayden]

Could it have anything to do with the 80s nostalgia binge of the last few years, as a lot of these became available in the West particularly USA in the 80s and many of the great contemporary martial arts films came from that era. I reckon companies will see a bigger market for the contemporary MA films rather than the traditional stuff. 

[slinky#1]

Maybe Cobra Kai. I persoinally never left, so dont know.

[Brucemee]

45 minutes ago, slinky#1 said:

Maybe Cobra Kai. I persoinally never left, so dont know.

Yeah, I'd say I never left, either. I never lost the taste for great Hong Kong made action movies but I would say if I required fresh, new great Hong Kong action movies to survive, if such movies were like water for me, I would have died of thirst 25 years or so ago! So thanks to Eureka!, 88 Films etc. for putting out these great new editions of the old classics! I'm watching Dragon Lord from the latest Shout! Factory JC collection today & the picture quality & over-all presentation is such a vast improvement over previous versions I've had the movie almost feels new to me.

[LauTakWahfan61]

Some good Asian Cinema lovers took steps to share their love of these films with fans like us by starting the abundant dive into the rabbit hole of licensing the kick-ass movies that we all love! So because of those fans, now these fans can enjoy and relive the films that made us! More than ever before we can access and enjoy movies we had no ability to even track down in past years. 

[Cognoscente]

Probably because of Donnie Yen.

In 2016, CTHD 2 and Rogue One came out. Then in 2017, xXx 3 came out. Donnie got enough exposure that there were bound to be some curious people using Google or YouTube to find out more about him, which then led to gifs or videos being shared on Twitter and Facebook.

It's a surprise that he didn't appear earlier in the John Wick franchise. #3 came out in 2019, and he had already achieved the honour of fighting Mike Tyson in Ip Man 3, which came out four years earlier.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

It is nice to have a resurgence, though I doubt we will ever see the popularity of HK films that I saw in the 00s.  First, I think it is because that these films are fun, well made and have that quality factor that passes the test of time.  Without that you just have a cultish aspect (which is here as well, but not the main reason I feel).  Second, the push from fans like us actually does help. Lending titles, recommending movies, getting people to see these things and occasionally creating a life long fan (that is a great feeling isn't it).  Third, I think so much of what has come out, especially in mainstream action (overabundance of comic book movies) does have action-fueled addicts looking elsewhere -- hopefully looking into the past (this point is by far just conjecture, but it is on my mind).  Fourth, Donnie Yen.

[dionbrother]

The IP MAN movies were popular films on Netflix during COVID, plus 88 Films early HK releases sold well enough for them and other companies to take a chance on more Fortune Star licensing.  Sort of an "everything happening at the right time" effect.  

[sym8]

I personally think the memory of Jackie,Sammo,Lau Kar Leung etc in there prime is what people crave from todays Far East flix but it’s just not there so we look to the past for unrivalled choreography and stunt work.I find myself re watching the old stuff more and more and still be amazed by what they do,and because of social media people may catch a snippet of something and that might spark a bit of interest for them to hunt the movie down.I know I do,hell I still watch old beat up vhs tapes.