Is Jackie Chan finished? Hong Kong action star’s career in question as Vanguard becomes his latest movie to tank at Chinese box office
- Vanguard took in just 246 million yuan (US$37 million) during its recent two-week run at mainland Chinese cinemas
- It is the latest in a string of failures for Chan, who is reportedly paid 80 million yuan for each of his Chinese productions
Jackie Chan’s latest film Vanguard earned the worst box office intake in mainland China among the local blockbusters released during the country’s “golden week” national holiday in early October, prompting Chinese media to ask whether its lacklustre performance marks the beginning of the end of the ageing star’s film career.
Coming in second at the golden-week box office with 700 million yuan in ticket sales was Hong Kong director Peter Chan Ho-sun’s Leap , a story of the Chinese women’s national volleyball team which was released on September 25.
The box office performance of Vanguard – directed by long-time Chan collaborator Stanley Tong – is particularly dismal compared with the performance of Chan’s past films in mainland China.
His highest-grossing film in China, Kung Fu Yoga – also directed by Tong – took in 1.75 billion yuan following its release at the end of January 2017 for the Chinese New Year holiday. Skiptrace, released in July 2016 and co-starring Fan Bingbing, chalked up 900 million yuan, while Railroad Tigers , released in December that year, earned 700 million yuan.