Released during the Lunar New Year, "Xiao Ren: Phong Khoi Dai Khac" is considered a big project of the martial arts film genre when invested and starring by Wu Jing, and also featuring Jet Li, Nicholas Tse and many generations of action stars.
However, contrary to expectations, the film had a rather modest start, ranking about fourth at the box office in the early days of screening, far behind competitors who favored comedy and family - genres that are easy to reach audiences during holidays.
In the context of a fiercely competitive market, not creating a breakthrough from the beginning put great pressure on the film. However, after the audience scores and feedback gradually were announced, the word-of-mouth effect helped the film improve its position. In the following days, the movie "Xiao Ren: Phong Khoi Dai Mac" recorded stable growth, exceeding 800 million yuan and maintaining the top box office position.
Data platforms such as Maoyan Pro and Dengta Pro have raised the film's final revenue forecast to about 1.24 - 1.53 billion yuan.
However, this figure still makes observers cautious, because the film's production cost is about 700 million yuan (nearly 100 million USD) and to approach the break-even point, the work is said to need to reach at least 1.5 - 2 billion yuan.
The film is adapted from a famous comic, set in the late Sui Dynasty, revolving around snipers specializing in protecting and escorting key people. The main character Dao Ma played by Wu Jing operates in the desert, both performing missions and evading court arrests. The film is directed by famous martial arts director Yuen Woo-ping, attracting attention with large-scale combat scenes, especially scenes of fighting in sandstorms and close-range cold air warriors.
Audience feedback shows differentiation. Many opinions highly appreciate the action part, production scale and real-scene setting, considering this as a clear strength of the film. However, a part of viewers believe that the storyline is still confused, lacking emotional depth, making the work difficult to reach audiences who are not familiar with the original.
In fact, the case of the movie "Tiêu nhân: Phong khởi đại mạc" clearly reflects the risks of high-cost films in the context of changing markets. Films with brands, stars and high investments no longer guarantee victory if they lack scripts that are attractive enough to the masses. Conversely, comedy, family or familiar brands still prevail thanks to their ability to attract a wider audience group.
In the near future, the final result of the film will depend on box office endurance and word-of-mouth effects. If it does not reach the necessary revenue milestone, the project may be difficult to recover capital, and it will affect the development plan of the next parts.
