Kung Fu Soccer Photo: Courtesy of Douban

Renowned Hong Kong filmmaker and comedian Stephen Chow has returned to directing with another box-office hit, as his latest film, Kung Fu Soccer, grossed more than 455 million yuan ($67 million) in its first two days in the Chinese mainland despite sharply divided audience reviews.

The film, regarded as the spiritual successor to Chow's 2001 classic Shao­lin Soccer, opened to strong demand across the country, quickly emerging as the biggest title of this year's summer movie season. 

Industry observers noted that its early success reflects a combination of Chow's enduring popularity, nostalgia for one of Chinese cinema's most beloved comedies and a summer market that has lacked a breakout blockbuster.

Directed and co-written by Chow, Kung Fu Soccer stars Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba and Lay Zhang, with Carina Lau and Japanese actor Takeru Satoh making special appearances.

The film follows a women's soccer team as it rises from an overlooked underdog to a championship contender, blending Shaolin kung fu with soccer.

It also marks Chow's first feature as a director since The New King of Comedy in 2019, ending a seven-year hiatus. It is also being positioned as a multilingual release featuring dialogue in Putonghua (Standard Chinese), Cantonese, English, Korean, Japanese and Thai, with producers hoping to capitalize on global interest surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a report by Variety.

According to data from ticketing platform Maoyan, Kung Fu Soccer accounted for 48.2 percent of nationwide screenings on its opening day. It earned more than 260 million yuan on its first day alone, accounting for 80.3 percent of China's total daily box office and helping the market surpass the 300 million yuan mark for a single day for the first time in 136 days.

Maoyan data also showed that 61 percent of those who marked the film as "want to watch" on the platform were male, while women accounted for 39 percent.

"The film's strong opening can be attributed to several factors," Zhang Peng, a cultural researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times.

In his view, Chow remains one of the most iconic figures in Chinese comedy. His films accompanied the childhood and youth of many people born in the 1970s and 1980s, giving him an exceptionally broad audience base.

He added that audiences had been waiting years for Chow's return, while the legacy of Shaolin Soccer generated considerable anticipation for its spiritual follow-up.

Beyond nostalgia, Zhang noted that the combination of kung fu and women's soccer aligns well with growing public interest in sports during the 2026 World Cup cycle while offering a story centered on ordinary women's pursuit of their dreams.

He also pointed to market conditions.

"This year's summer season has lacked a true blockbuster," Zhang said. "The film arrived at a time when audiences were eager for a family-friendly comedy with large-scale entertainment value, effectively filling a gap in the market."

Despite its commercial success, Kung Fu Soccer has received mixed reviews. The film currently holds a 6.6/10 rating on Chinese media review platform Douban, where audiences have been divided over its story, humor and production quality.

Supporters praised the film for moving beyond the traditional sports-movie formula centered on male heroes, instead highlighting female solidarity and personal growth. Some also welcomed the return of Chow's trademark absurdist humor and martial arts-inspired action sequences, saying the film captured the spirit of his earlier works.

Critics, however, argued that the film relied too heavily on the formula of Shaolin Soccer. Some viewers described the plot as repetitive and criticized the visual effects as outdated, while others said the comedy lacked the originality that made Chow's previous films classics.

Lin Xiao, who watched the film with friends on its opening day, told the Global Times that she was disappointed after leaving the movie theater.

"The visual effects felt underwhelming, the story felt messy, and I barely laughed," she said.

The criticism from Lin came despite the film's large-scale production. According to ThePaper.cn, the movie features more than 1,200 visual effects shots and uses motion-capture and AI-rendering technologies.

Still, some fans remain willing to support Chow regardless of the reviews. A 45-year-old Beijing resident who described himself as a longtime fan told the Global Times that he had not yet seen the film but planned to buy a ticket.

"I grew up watching Stephen Chow's movies," he said. "I'll definitely support this one."

Bu Xiting, an associate researcher at the School of Cultural Industries Management at the Communication University of China, told the Global Times that the polarized response reflects changing audience expectations.

"As audiences increasingly expect higher production quality in the AI era, nostalgia alone is no longer enough," Bu said.

From an industry perspective, he said the film demonstrates both the commercial power and the limitations of nostalgia-driven filmmaking. While emotional attachment to Chow's works helped generate an explosive opening weekend, sustaining momentum will depend on word of mouth rather than brand recognition alone.

Even so, the film's impressive start has raised hopes that it could become the long-awaited breakout hit of China's summer box office, providing a much-needed boost to cinemas and potentially lifting overall theatrical revenue for the remainder of 2026, he noted.