Xiao Zhan and Yu Shi Fail to Rise in Popularity During Spring Festival Release, Zhang Xincheng Joins the Box Office Runner-up

New Year films have always been the best way for actors to prove their box office power and use it to rise in popularity. This year, popular stars like Xiao Zhan, Yu Shi, and Zhang Xincheng all ventured into China's New Year film season. Xiao Zhan starred as the male lead in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero", which grossed 470 million yuan (about 280 million ringgit) in its first three days. The box office performance was poor, and the film did not receive good reviews either, marking a setback in his transition to the film industry. Yu Shi, who gained fame last year with "Creation of the Gods Part One: The Storm of Zhaoge", shot three installments. "Creation of the Gods Part Two: The War of Western Qi", riding on the first film's high box office and good reviews, was expected to be one of the top three box office contenders during the Spring Festival, but has already been left far behind the top two. His other simultaneous release, the patriotic action film "Operation Jiao Long", performed even worse. Both Xiao Zhan and Yu Shi failed to rise in popularity through the New Year's releases. In addition, Zhang Xincheng has a role in the box office runner-up "Detective Chinatown 1900", but the plot highlights were not centered on him, so he hasn't generated much discussion, but he does get some recognition in the film industry.

Xiao Zhan's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" underperformed at the box office, with fans criticizing that the lead actress Zhuang Dafei was not suitable for the role of Huang Rong, and director Tsui Hark, at 75, did not show his peak skills. Xiao Zhan still has upcoming opportunities to challenge the film industry with works like "Leisurely Careful Composition" directed by Kong Sheng of "Nirvana in Fire", which has already finished shooting.

Meanwhile, Yu Shi, who became popular with "Creation of the Gods Part One", experienced a series of negative news. Fans hoped that with the release of the second installment, his character Ji Fa would have significant growth and bring him a breath of fresh air. However, they were disappointed because the second film's focus was not on Ji Fa but on the female character Deng Chanyu. Yu Shi's fans sarcastically suggested the second installment should be called "The Legend of Deng Chanyu", and the portrayal of Ji Fa, hesitating between stabbing or not stabbing Wen Taishi, was criticized as indecisive and love-obsessed, with the look being compared to "Avatar". Director Wu Ershan responded to the criticism by stating that Ji Fa is kind, albeit with a notable difference from his image in the first film, resulting in a setback for Yu Shi.

Zhang Xincheng makes a cameo in "Detective Chinatown 1900".Zhang Xincheng chose to make a cameo in the new installment of the "Detective Chinatown" series, "Detective Chinatown 1900". Previously, the promotional focus was not on him, and many people didn't even know he was involved. He is quietly working hard towards a film career and has squeezed into the Spring Festival releases. Future important roles to be offered to him remain to be seen.

Source: Apple Daily News Network