Andy Lau Is The King Of The Box Office, But These Chinese Stars Still Outearn Him By A Lot
Does that make financial sense?
Hongkong singer-actor Andy Lau, 59, is Hongkong’s undisputed king of the box office, having raked in a whopping S$350mil in box office revenue the past year. And it looks like he’s hot stuff over in China as well, with his films frequently topping the daily box office.
Just take Shock Wave 2, which stars Andy, as an example.
According to reports, the movie currently holds the title of the top-grossing Hongkong film — it earned a total of NT$5.63bil (S$270mil) since its release late last year.
Oh, and the movie Shock Wave 2 dethroned is The White Storm 2: Drug Lords, which, you guessed it, stars Andy too.
You go, Andy
But according to an industry insider, despite Andy’s stellar track record and star power, the Heavenly King remains super humble.
Instead of asking for exorbitant fees, which he truly deserves, Andy’s rates are usually kept very reasonable. If the contract does not include profit-sharing, or a cut of the movie’s box office revenue, Andy typically asks for around NT$86mil (S$4.12mil) to NT$100mil (S$4.79mil) per movie.
For some flicks like The White Storm 2: Drug Lords, where he also serves as executive producer, Andy doesn’t even get paid for acting in the movie. Instead, he asks for a percentage of the movie’s box office revenue.
Zhang Zifeng and Deng Chao
However, Chinese stars have been commanding higher and higher appearance fees over the years.
19-year-old Chinese actress Zhang Zifeng reportedly earned NT$85mil (S$4.05mil) after appearing in just one movie.
Similarly, Chinese actors like Deng Chao, 42, Huang Bo, 46, and Xu Zheng, 48, are asking for at least NT$170mil (S$8.15mil) per movie, along with a cut of box office revenue.
Detective Chinatown's a huge hit
Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang, 36, who stars in the wildly popular Detective Chinatown movie series, reportedly took home NT$350mil (S$16.69mil) for his role in the latest sequel, which was released earlier this year.
As a result, a number of directors have come out to complain that they “can no longer afford” to hire these actors.
Some media outlets have also speculated that as a result of this, Andy will be appearing in the upcoming Detective Chinatown movie, instead of Baoqiang.
Guess we'll have to wait till next year to see if the rumours are true.
Photos: TPG, MM2 Entertainment, Zhang Zifeng/Weibo, Deng Chao/Weibo, PBE Media
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