HK films shine at the mainland box office

This has turned out to be a golden summer for Hong Kong films on the mainland.

Three local productions - Overheard, On His Majesty's Secret Service and McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong - have already taken in 254 million yuan (HK$268 million) at the box office in the month following their mainland release in late July, says ENT Group, an entertainment consulating firm.

'Each movie appeals to audiences for different reasons. But in general it's the [greater] sophistication of Hong Kong films that attracts people to the cinemas,' said Howie Yu Shaoyi, film editor of the Southern Metropolis daily.

McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong, the latest in the McDull franchise, took about 70.6 million yuan in ticket sales up to August 23. It follows the adventures of Hong Kong's favourite cartoon piglet as he explores opportunities north of the border, just as many Hongkongers have done.

Overheard, which grossed 86.6 million yuan, is a thriller about three police officers who use insider information, gleaned from surveillance of businessmen being investigated for commercial fraud, to dabble in stocks themselves. Co-directed by Alan Mak Siu-fai and Felix Chong Man-keung, who collaborated on Infernal Affairs, the film also stars some of Hong Kong's top leading men - Sean Lau Ching-wan, Daniel Wu Yin-cho and Louis Koo Tin-lok.

However, On His Majesty's Secret Service, a costume comedy from veteran director Wong Jing, is the most successful of the three. More akin in spirit to Get Smart than the James Bond series, the movie is set in ancient China and centres on the efforts by a bumbling member of the emperor's secret service bodyguards to prove himself.