And so it begins, the true globalization of moviegoing. You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of Ip Man 3....
You might’ve noticed over the last year or so that foreign films are creeping into
the top ten at the box office - most notably from Bollywood and China. And of course even
the most CASUAL box office observer has noticed how much money China is pumping into Hollywood,
with some films earning more in the Middle Kingdom than here in North America! In fact,
it’s widely predicted that China will become the number one movie market as early as 2017,
and so Hollywood is making China a top priority. China is investing in Hollywood, from AMC
Movie Theaters to Legendary Entertainment, while Dreamworks Animation has set up a second
studio in Shanghai - complete with entertainment complex! Oriental Dreamworks’ first movie
is - Kung Fu Panda 3! And of course, more and more movies are shooting in China not
only to appeal to Chinese audiences, but because doing so increases the odds of getting a distribution
date in China - where not all foreign films make the cut. Then of course there’s a lot
of talent swapping going on, with Matt Damon and Fast and Furious’ Justin Lin going to
China, while Donnie Yen comes here to co-star in Rogue One A Star Wars Story! Who’s Donnie
Yen? A contemporary of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Donnie Yen is still working on becoming
a name talent abroad - but it looks like his time has finally come. After doing the fight
choreography for Highlander Endgame and Blade 2, and playing the villain in Shanghai Knights,
Hollywood is very interested in Yen because of his tremendous success in China. The Ip
Man franchise has been VERY good to Yen, where he also choreographs the action, plus Yen
starred as The Monkey King in 2011, one of China’s highest grossing films EVER. But
while Yen chose not to return for The Monkey King 2, he couldn’t deny his fans Ip Man
THREE - although he has said that being in his fifties, this will be his final martial
arts film. Then what’s he going to do in Star Wars...? And I guess digital doesn’t
count either, as Yen is co-starring in Netflix’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2 which debuts
online and in IMAX theaters in late February. Back to Ip Man, this film series is based
on the life of legendary grandmaster Yip Man who taught Bruce Lee - a character in both
Ip Man 2 and this third film. There have actually been many films made in China about Yip Man,
including Wong Kar-Wai’s 2013 The Grandmaster, but none have been able to defeat Yen’s
franchise in box office battle! Why, in many asian countries right now, Ip Man 3 is able
to go fist to fist with Star Wars The Force Awakens! And like western franchises, Ip Man
is evolving - this time adding its first western star, Mike Tyson. It would that when it comes
to movies, the road between China and Hollywood is a two way street.
At least for people in the industry.
How about for moviegoers...?