Preface: Recently, a movie starring Zhou Runfa was officially announced, it is directed by Pan Yaoming, written by Zhuang Wenqiang, starring Zhou Runfa and Yuan Yongyi, and starring Fang Zhongxin, Liao Qizhi, An Zhijie, and Bai Only starred in the movie "Don't Call Me "God of Gamblers".
Released on December 14, 1989, God of Gamblers is one of Chow Yun-fat's most iconic works, earning HK$37.05 million at the Hong Kong box office that year and being the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong in 1989. "God of Gamblers" is directed by Wang Jing, starring Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Zhang Min, Wang Zuxian, etc., which can be said to be a fantastic lineup.
Chow Yun-fat also made a cameo appearance in "Gambler" in which Andy Lau was the male number one, and starred in "God of Gamblers 2". More than 20 years later, Chow Yun-fat acted in gambling films again, and there were three of them: "Macau Storm", which was released on January 31, 2014, grossed 524 million yuan in the mainland. On February 19, 2015, "Macau Storm 2" was released, and the final box office was 972 million.
On February 8, 2016, "Macau Storm 3" was released, and the final box office was 1.116 billion. Although the box office of these three films is good, the word of mouth is very general, and it is all based on the box office accumulated by the stars. For example, in "Macau Storm 3", the participating actors include Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Zhang Jiahui, Li Yuchun, Liu Jialing, Xiang Huaqiang, Xiang Zuo, Yu Wenle and so on.
"Don't Call Me "God of Gamblers"" does not have so many stars, can Zhou Runfa carry the box office alone? There is the word "God of Gamblers" in the title, is it a tribute to his own classics, or a cold meal for speculating in gambling films? Pan Yaoming, the director of "Don't Call Me "God of Gamblers", is a photographer and has won many awards, but he is not very experienced as a director.
Wu Qinggong, a non-famous entertainment critic, pointed out that the film "Extraordinary Mission", released in 2017, is Pan Yaoming's directorial debut, starring Huang Xuan and Duan Yihong, and has a box office of 156 million. Zhuang Wenqiang, the screenwriter of "Don't Call Me "God of Gamblers", is very famous, is the screenwriter of "Infernal Affairs" and "Head Text D", and also directed the famous series of movies "Eavesdropping".
In 2018, Zhuang Wenqiang's self-written and self-directed action crime film "Peerless" was released, for which he won the Best Director Award and the Best Screenplay Award at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards. This is also the last film released by Chow Yun Fat, with a box office of 1.273 billion, becoming the highest-grossing Hong Kong film in the mainland. Of course, this record has now changed hands three times.
Andy Lau and Gu Tianle starred in "Sweeping Drugs 2", Andy Lau and Liu Qingyun starred in "Bomb Disposal Expert 2", and Zhen Zidan and Gu Tianle starred in "Fury: Serious Case", all of which exceeded 1.273 billion at the box office. "Peerless" can be said to be both acclaimed and popular, it is reasonable to say that Zhou Runfa should not worry about no drama, but he only made one "Don't Call Me "God of Gamblers" in 3 years, which is a pity.
It can only be said that the current Hong Kong films are getting more and more difficult, it seems that the box office ceiling is only 1.4 billion, whether it is Chow Yun Fat or Andy Lau, whether it is Zhen Zidan or Gu Tianle, the box office is around 1.3 billion. Zhou Runfa, such a good actor, did not have a scene? In fact, his acting skills are so good, he can control any role, not necessarily only to make Hong Kong films.
Discussion: Do you think "Don't Call Me "God of Gamblers" will have a box office of more than 500 million?