Exactly 30 years after the movie "The God of Cookery" premiered in 1996, a short-screen vertical version is being produced. The film is expected to have 30 episodes, each episode about 3 minutes long.
According to Chinese media, there is an undeniable truth, which is that Stephen Chow's ability to grasp trends is much faster than many directors of the same generation.
He targets the short film market because of the telling numbers.
In 2025, the Chinese short film market has surpassed the 100 billion RMB mark, with about 700 million users. In other words, one in two people has ever watched a short film.
This "big pie" attracts many producers. But Chau Tinh Tri's participation in the short film market is not a temporary decision, but has been secretly prepared in advance.
Right from 2024, he and his Bingo Group cooperated with major short video platforms to establish the "9527 Theater" brand, officially stepping into the field of high-quality short films.
Long-time fans all understand the meaning of the number 9527. This is the family code of the character Duong Ba Ho played by Stephen Chow in the movie "Duong Ba Ho Diem Thu Huong".
On June 1, Stephen Chow continued to take a new step. Bingo Group has completed a strategic investment in the artificial intelligence technology company Interactive Star in Suzhou.
The two sides will cooperate in fields such as AI films, interactive film games, humanoid films and IP operations across the chain. The goal is to combine creativity, advanced technology and a rich IP portfolio to build a new standard for China's digital content industry.
AI combined with short films is the direction that Stephen Chow saw very early. While many content creators still rely on emotions to make decisions, he has begun to think about how technology and content can create a chemical reaction with each other.
Stephen Chow's ambition is not to make a few short films to make money quickly. What he wants is to turn short films from pure entertainment products into industrial products, even works of art.
Eat God 2026" is the third time Stephen Chow has set foot in the short film market. Previously, the "9527 Theater" brand had launched 2 projects.
The first short film "Kim Tru Ngoc Diep" directed by Dich Tieu Tinh, achieved high viewership on online platforms, exceeding 500 million views.
Then came the short film "Diary - Journey to the West", a short film version inspired by Stephen Chow's classic "Diary of the Journey to the West" in 1995. The work attracted attention but received less positive feedback than the first project.
Many people still hope to buy tickets to watch Stephen Chow's new movie. But so far, he has never been someone who is willing to stand still.
From a popular actor to a box office king, from a comedian to a director, then from cinema to short films, every time he changed direction, he was suspected, and in the end still used his own work to answer.
According to media reports, while the short film market is currently full of people who want to make money quickly, Stephen Chow has at least done one thing: raising the industry standards higher.
Although "Dai thoai - Dai thoai Tay du" is controversial, the quality of costumes, acting and production still far exceed the general level of short films today.
At the age of 63, Stephen Chow is still changing, still ready to experiment and still daring to bet on new things. Just that alone is enough to make people want to wait and see his next steps.
