LayarHijau.com—The wuxia film The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, directed by Tsui Hark and starring Xiao Zhan, initially broke presale records in China.
However, when the film was released in theaters during the Spring Festival, it only managed to secure the fourth or fifth position at the box office. Throughout its run, The Gallants could not outperform the animated film Ne Zha 2. With a budget of around 500 million yuan, the film's box office earnings only reached 667 million yuan during its theatrical release in China.
According to reports from Sohu, one of the reasons believed to contribute to the film's failure was the storyline, which audiences felt strayed too far from the original novel.
The media reported that Guo Jing and Huang Rong's attitudes and strategies in facing the Mongolian army were seen as overly naive and foolish by viewers. Additionally, the character of Huang Rong, portrayed by Zhuang Dafei, was criticized for being very different from her novel counterpart. The film's Huang Rong did not appear as clever, agile, graceful, or beautiful as described in the book. In fact, viewers remarked that this version of Huang Rong seemed stiff and unappealing.
The film itself began screening in several Asian countries on February 20, 2025, and in Indonesia on February 26, 2025. Some media outlets in the United States had previously predicted that the film would be more successful internationally due to Xiao Zhan's massive popularity.
These predictions seem to have been validated by The Gallants' box office performance in Thailand. For two consecutive weeks, the film achieved the top spot in the weekly box office. The Legend of the Condor Heroes became the first Mandarin-language film to top the box office in Thailand in the past 20 years.
It is estimated that the film's box office revenue in Thailand has reached 21.9 million baht. This figure is not only astonishing but also indicates the potential to break several box office records for Chinese-language films in Thailand.
The box office momentum for The Legend of the Condor Heroes remains strong, and it is quite likely to surpass Ip Man 4, released 20 years ago, setting a record for the best performance of Chinese-language films in Thailand in the last 17 years.
This achievement has excited fans of Xiao Zhan and Zhuang Dafei, although some netizens in China have received the news with indifference and questioned the taste of Thai audiences.
Have you seen this film in theaters? What are your thoughts on The Legend of the Condor Heroes breaking box office records in Thailand? Feel free to leave a comment to discuss!