“The Last Dance,” a funeral parlor-set drama film directed by Anselm Chan, has broken Hong Kong’s single day box office record.
The story depicts a former wedding planner who changes career and enters the funeral business instead. He partners up with a Taoist priest who has doubts about the man’s suitability. Together, through various funeral rituals, the pair probe questions about life and death.
The film was released in its home town theaters on Nov. 9, but broke the record a week later on Nov. 16, when it scored HK$9.18 million in Hong Kong and neighboring Macau, according to data from Hong Kong Box Office Co., Ltd. (Of that, HK$8.61 million came from Hong Kong.) The previous single day record was 2016’s “Cold War 2,” which collected HK$7.56 million.
“As of Nov. 17, the film’s box office in Hong Kong and Macau has reached HK$58.0 million, in the nine days since its release. And the box office is expected to reach a new high,” the data company reported.
Variety‘s review of the film called it: “A heartwarming tale [that] centers on perfectly mismatched partners in the funeral business” and “a handsomely crafted third feature [that] is a poignant drama about finding meaning in life from the passing of loved ones and the rituals of final farewells.”
The Hong Kong cinema industry has struggled to emerge from the shadow of COVID, during which time the territory’s cinemas were closed or heavily restricted on government order. And it has become ever-more hit driven.
In the first half of this year, aggregate theatrical revenues were down 17% year-on-year at HK$640 million ($82 million), from HK$772 million ($99 million) in the first half of 2023. But both 2024 and 2024 have seen local films break all-time records.
Last year, it was courtroom drama “A Guilty Conscience” that took the title. This year, the standout has been Soi Cheang’s hyper-kinetic martial arts action film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” which surpassed HK$105 million ($13.5 million), by the end of June, according to Hong Kong Box Office Ltd. The film was subsequently selected as Hong Kong’s contender for the best international feature film at the Oscars.
Dayo Wong, who appeared in “A Guilty Conscience” and 2022 hit “Table for Six,” stars in “The Last Dance.” Significantly, he is joined by veteran star Michael Hui, a beloved actor and comedian whose early career in the 1970s coincided with Hong Kong cinema’s so-called Golden Era.
“The Last Dance” had its world premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival on Oct. 11. It then played as the opening title at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and in the World Focus section of last month’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
