According to Mtime, the film consistently led box office revenue, revitalizing the previously sluggish film market. Some market observers predict the film will achieve total revenue exceeding 3 billion yuan (423 million USD).

Good revenue does not necessarily reflect content quality, according to Dahao News. Some viewers rated the film as "good and funny," while others criticized its shallow content and unconvincing visual effects.

Stephen Chow and lead actress Zhang Xiaofei. Photo: Weibo

On the film forum Douban, nearly 190,000 viewers rated "Kungfu nu tuc" 6,5/10 points, with most reviews being average. The film revolves around the Emei women's football team, which overcomes psychological obstacles and internal conflicts to win an international tournament.

In a video on his personal page, director Wong Jing, a former collaborator of Stephen Chow, commented, "The film is good, but not as good as Shaolin Soccer." Shaolin Soccer, also a football-themed film directed by Stephen Chow, was released in 2001.

Stephen Chow playing football on the set of "Kungfu nu tuc," 2025. Video: Weibo

According to Wong Jing, "Kungfu nu tuc" falls short of Chow's previous work due to the absence of versatile actors like Ng Man Tat and Wong Yat Fei. He stated that the female actors in "Kungfu nu tuc" "did not fully convey Stephen Chow's humor." Nevertheless, he noted that the script was well-handled, making it Stephen Chow's best film in the past 10 years.

In addition to directing, Chow also wrote the screenplay and produced the film. His company is one of the three studios that invested in the production, with a budget of 380 million yuan (55,8 million USD). Nearly 50% of that budget was allocated to content creation and visual effects, 18% to set construction, and actor salaries accounted for only 15%.

Stephen Chow at age 64. Photo: Mtime

Stephen Chow has not acted in films since 2008, focusing instead on directing and producing. In 2016, his film The Mermaid was a sensation, earning over 550 million USD in revenue and becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese box office history until Wolf Warrior 2 by Wu Jing broke the record. A private artist, Chow reportedly owns a villa worth 1,1 billion HKD (141 million USD), which he previously mortgaged to finance film productions, according to HK01.

Nhu Anh