A new sports movie has quietly become one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
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Kung Fu Soccer, director Stephen Chow's long-awaited follow-up to the cult favorite Shaolin Soccer, has already topped $200 million at the Chinese box office after just nine days in theaters.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film added another $73.7 million during its second weekend, pushing its total to roughly $214 million. Even more impressively, it actually outperformed its opening weekend — a rarity in the Chinese market, where second-weekend ticket sales typically drop significantly.
The strong start has prompted ticketing platform Maoyan to raise its projected total to nearly $450 million, which would make it one of the biggest sports movies of the year.
Released during the FIFA World Cup, Kung Fu Soccer serves as a spinoff to Chow's beloved 2001 hit Shaolin Soccer. This time, the story follows an underdog women's soccer team that uses martial arts techniques in an unlikely championship run.
Chow wrote and directed the film but does not appear on screen, having stepped away from acting several years ago.
A North American release is expected later this year, though an official date has not yet been announced.
If the film's remarkable run continues overseas, don't be surprised if Kung Fu Soccer suddenly becomes a lot more familiar to audiences outside China.
