Kung Fu Hustle: Transnational production and the global Chinese-language film

“A Very Significant Chinese Component”: Securing the Success ofTransformers: Age of Extinctionin China

“…It is within this environment that Chinese film companies started to engage in big‐budget co‐productions with foreign studios in order to strengthen the local film industry. According to media scholar Christina Klein, these co‐productions provided benefits for all studio partners, but in particular for the Chinese companies: “Chinese film policy makers are driven by a form of economic nationalism: they hope to strengthen the Chinese film industry so that it can withstand the growing competition from Hollywood that will arise as the Chinese economy continues to open up” (203). Klein argues that films like Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004) provided an environment of “knowledge and technology transfer” for the Chinese film industry (203).…”

“…It also involved the big budget resources of its Hollywood partner, as well as the production style of its highly successful Hong Kong director and star, Stephen Chow. Kung Fu Hustle became the second‐highest grossing Chinese film up to that time, and helped domestic films out‐earn Hollywood films for the first time in a decade (Klein 204). Because Kung Fu Hustle was an official co‐production, Sony received 30–40% of overall box office grosses in China, as is typical for such co‐produced films (Klein 202).…”

“…Kung Fu Hustle became the second‐highest grossing Chinese film up to that time, and helped domestic films out‐earn Hollywood films for the first time in a decade (Klein 204). Because Kung Fu Hustle was an official co‐production, Sony received 30–40% of overall box office grosses in China, as is typical for such co‐produced films (Klein 202). As Klein argues, the film demonstrates “that clear‐cut distinctions between ‘Hollywood films’ and ‘Chinese cinema’ are becoming harder to make in terms of production, style, market performance and national‐cultural‐industrial identity” (205).…”

“…Because Kung Fu Hustle was an official co‐production, Sony received 30–40% of overall box office grosses in China, as is typical for such co‐produced films (Klein 202). As Klein argues, the film demonstrates “that clear‐cut distinctions between ‘Hollywood films’ and ‘Chinese cinema’ are becoming harder to make in terms of production, style, market performance and national‐cultural‐industrial identity” (205). Indeed, Kung Fu Hustle is an early example of the growing interconnectedness of the production and distribution interests of Hollywood and Chinese firms.…”

Sinophone Cinemas

“…Foreign films entering China face a yearly quota, while Hong Kong films do not; foreign films pay 5 per cent import tax and a lower 13-15 per cent box-office share, while Hong Kong-China co-productions get 30-40 per cent box-office share and import tax waiver; Hong Kong companies can establish wholly owned film distribution companies in China but foreign companies cannot (Szeto and Chen, 2011, pp. 244-5;Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), 2010;Liu, 2008;Klein, 2007). These privileges accelerated the restructuring of the Hong Kong film industry towards mainlandization.…”