Hong Kong courtroom drama The Sparring Partner has emerged as the fourth highest grossing local film of 2022 and the third highest grossing Chinese-language film of all time with a restrictive category III rating, as it rolls out in other territories around the world.
The feature directorial debut of Ho Cheuk Tin had taken $4.6m (HK$37m) at the Hong Kong box office as of December 12, following its opening on October 27.
It retained the top spot from November 28 to December 10 (except December 4), despite facing challenges from Hollywood blockbusters Black Adam and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as well as local film Hong Kong Family.
The crime drama is based on the high-profile case of a young man who brutally murdered and dismembered his parents in 2013 with the help of a friend. The 138-minute film centres on their trial while exploring themes of law and justice. It marks the first feature to be produced by filmmaker Philip Yung, whose Where The Wind Blows is Hong Kong’s submission for the Oscar. Ho was Yung’s assistant director.
Golden Scene is The Sparring Partner’s theatrical distributor in Hong Kong and Macau, while Mei Ah Entertainment handles international sales. The feature was partially funded by the Hong Kong Film Development Fund.
“Cinemas can be conservative and are willing to allocate more screenings only when a title performs well,” Golden Scene founder Winnie Tsang told Screen. “With positive word of mouth and a strong marketing strategy, the film fared better in the second week than the first. It is even more unusual that the third and the fourth week continued to surpass the previous week.”
The Sparring Partner ranks fourth among Hong Kong titles locally in 2022 to date, after Warriors Of Future, Table For Six and Mama’s Affair. It is also the third highest ranking title of all time in Hong Kong among Chinese-language films with a restrictive category III rating, after Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007) and Christopher Sun’s 3D Sex And Zen: Extreme Ecstasy (2011).
The Sparring Partner is classified as category III for people aged 18 and above due to violence and nudity.
The film received its world premiere at the Hong Kong International Film Festival on August 30 and won the Golden Firebird best actor award for Mak Pui-tung, who plays the murderer’s accomplice. Theatre actors Mak and Alan Yeung lead an ensemble cast that also includes Louisa So, Michael Chow, Jan Lamb and Gloria Yip.
Outside of Hong Kong, the film was released in the UK through Trinity Cine Asia on November 18 and in the US through Well Go USA Entertainment on December 9. It will next open in Taiwan through Mei Ah’s Taiwan office and Applause Entertainment, Australia and New Zealand.
Hong Kong cinema has experienced a vigorous resurgence in the second half of 2022 after cinemas were closed for more than 100 days at the start of the year – a response to the fifth and worst wave of Covid-19 in the city to date.
No comments yet