"Kung Fu Women's Soccer" premiered on July 11 in China, dominating the box office with over 5.8 million viewers. According to Sina, this marks the best summer opening for a film in the country in the past three years.

Trailer "Kung Fu Women's Soccer". Video: Weibo

The film's content and visual effects have received mixed reviews from audiences and critics. Some viewers praised it as classic Stephen Chow humor, with many "explosively funny" moments, calling its message "a fairy tale for adults." Other film bloggers noted the first 10 minutes felt "awkward," initially leading viewers to deem it "bad," but the story became more engaging later.

Conversely, many criticized the plot as simplistic and the visual effects as "cheap." Thousands echoed the sentiment that the film was "not bad, but disappointing if you had high expectations."

Prominent figures also weighed in, with Chinese MC Lam Hai expressing strong disappointment. Lam Hai posted on Weibo after seeing the film, stating, "Stephen Chow, I no longer owe you anything; it was terrible." This comment references the common phrase, "we owe Stephen Chow a movie ticket," which arose from fans having watched his previous works through pirated copies or free online streaming.

Poster "Kung Fu Women's Soccer", featuring actors Truong Tieu Phi, Dich Le Nhiet Ba, Truong Nghe Hung. Photo: Weibo

Chow not only directed "Kung Fu Women's Soccer" but also served as its screenwriter and producer, with a significant budget backing the production. His company was one of three investors, contributing to the film's budget of 380 million yuan (55.8 million USD). Nearly 50% of this budget was allocated to content and visual effects, 18% to set construction, while actor salaries accounted for only 15%.

The most expensive sequence in "Kung Fu Women's Soccer" was a ball-passing scene, which required nine months of visual effects work and cost 20 million yuan (2.9 million USD). The film marks Chow's directorial return after more than seven years, following "The New King of Comedy." It is a comedy centered on the Emei women's soccer team, a group of ordinary girls who incorporate kung fu into their game as they compete in a tournament.

Stephen Chow on the set of "Kung Fu Women's Soccer", 2025. Video: Weibo

Since 2008, Chow has focused exclusively on directing and producing, building a legacy of successful films. In 2016, his film "The Mermaid" was a sensation, earning over 550 million USD and becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese box office history until it was surpassed by Ngo Kinh's "Wolf Warrior 2." Known for his private life, Chow reportedly owns a villa valued at 1.1 billion HKD (141 million USD), which he once mortgaged to finance film production.