Michael Bay.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Foreign films dominated the Hong Kong film industry as various international films made it to the box office in 2014.
Topping the list was "Transformers: Age of Extinction," followed by Marvel's "Captain America: Winter Soldier." The total box-office revenue reported for 2014 amounted to $211.7 million, a 1.32-percent increase from that of 2013.
"Transformers," which already topped the charts in China, also raked in humongous $12.6 million in Hong Kong just for its summer run. Its success in Hong Kong could have been propelled by the film's highlights being shot in the country.
Aside from these top grossers, sci-fi and superhero movies in general did well in Hong Kong. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" also earned well. "Spiderman" earned $7 million, while "X-Men" garnered $6.5 million. "Interstellar" also did well, with an earning of $6.6 million since it was released on Nov. 6.
The news of international movies making the top spots is not surprising. During the golden years of Hong Kong film production, around the '70s and '80s, local movies usually dominate the year-end box-office list. This can be explained by the sheer number of local movies being released in these years. However, in 2014, among the 310 movies released, only 51 were Hong Kong films, while the rest were foreign imports.
Angelina Jolie's "Maleficent" as well as "Dawn of the Planet Apes" also did well and made the box-office list.
When it comes to local firms, "Golden Chickensss" placed sixth on the year-end box-office list. A Matt Chow comedy, the movie's cast included some of the biggest entertainment names in Hong Kong, such as Donnie Yen, Andy Lau, Louis Koo and many others. It was also released at a time when moviegoers are likely to watch local films, during the Chinese New Year holiday period last Feb. 2014. The film earned $5.3 million.
Another local film that made the list is Chow Yan-fat's "From Vegas to Macau." A sequel for this film is already currently in production and will be released in Feb. 2015.
