skiptrace ( film )
johnny knoxville, left, and jackie chan in skiptrace. courtesy italia film international
cinematographer chan kwok - hung has dies in a boat accident during production of jackie chan - starring film
skiptrace .
hong kong — a cinematographer was killed on wednesday in hong kong during the filming of jackie chan - starring film “ skiptrace. ”
we' ll just have to wait and see how skiptrace sets itself apart .
samantha (fan bingbing) and bennie in “skiptrace. ” (shaw organisation )
actor jackie chan attends the press conference of director renny harlin' s film' skiptrace' on july 13, 2016 in kunming, yunnan province of china .
renny harlin on set with crew on' skiptrace'. courtesy of midnight sun pictures. ​
johnny knoxville, left, and jackie chan in “skiptrace, ” an unlikely - buddy yarn .
on paper, skiptrace has all the makings of a rush hour film, but chan insisted months ago that it' s about casting and that if chris tucker was replaced with another actor, skiptrace would take on a different action - comedy form. here' s what chan had to say about skiptrace, tucker and a possible rush hour 4 a few months back :
“skiptrace” is rated pg - 13 (parents strongly cautioned) for some rude language and comic violence .
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing skiptrace near you .
jackie chan ’s comedy action film “ skiptrace ” jumped to a $ 60 million four day opening in china, where it bounced far ahead of fellow openers and holdovers alike .
jackie chan and yuen biao are on stage to promote chan' s new film
skiptrace
in beijing on may 22, 2016. [ china. org. cn ]
los angeles (variety. com) - hong kong - - a cinematographer was killed on wednesday in hong kong during the filming of jackie chan - starring film
skiptrace .
exclusive media is handling international rights and will present the film to buyers at the cannes film market this month. exclusive media’s damien saccani will oversee production .
skiptrace will be shopped to foreign buyers this month at the cannes film market by exclusive president of international sales and distribution alex walton (chan and bingbing will personally pitch international distributors) .
actor jackie chan and actress kira shi shi attend the press conference of director renny harlin' s film' skiptrace' on july 13, 2016 in kunming, yunnan province of china .
ozon' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
jackie chan gets a new action - comedy partner in johnny knoxville for silly but genial adventure
skiptrace .
the film has always been associated with a tragedy. on dec. 17, 2014, cinematographer chan kwok - hung drowned while on a shoot for the film .
actor jackie chan, actress kira shi shi, actress zhang lanxin attend the press conference of director renny harlin' s film' skiptrace' on july 13, 2016 in kunming, yunnan province of china .
director renny harlin (c) and actress zhang lanxin (r2) attend the press conference of renny harlin' s film' skiptrace' on july 13, 2016 in kunming, yunnan province of china .
film bloopers screen side by side with the credits. (no subtitles) see more »
actor jackie chan attends the press conference of director renny harlin' s film ...
actress kira shi shi, actor jackie chan, actress zhang lanxin, director renny harlin attend the press conference of renny harlin' s film' skiptrace' on july 13, 2016 in kunming, yunnan province of china .
sam fell, director of the oscar nominated animated feature film' paranorman', ...
shanghai new media culture has boarded as co - financier on the now in - production jackie chan action adventure vehicle “ skiptrace. ”
for a film that’s so predictable, “skiptrace” does provide us with a decent surprise in act three, on top of which another surprise appears. while the twist actually doesn’t make sense if you think about it, the way that it’s handled provides closure for the film, and is one of the few redeeming aspects of the movie .
jay longino wrote the script, with the sitter scribes brian gatewood and alessandro tanaka co - writing. skiptrace comes almost two decades after talent international film group president esmond ren first worked with chan on the legend of drunken master (1994) .
in a pre - cannes deal, exclusive media has come on board to produce and co - finance sam fell’s action comedy “skiptrace, ” starring jackie chan and bingbing fan. ‘skiptrace” will be produced as a sino co - production by exclusive media and china’s talent intl. , which will also co - finance the film. chan and david gerson are producing. cyrte investments’ charlie [ … ]
for as
fun
as skiptrace might be, there' s never a strive to do anything different or memorable throughout the goofy buddy comedy .
as a producer, it seems like chan would have some control over this and since we aren' t hearing tucker' s name attached to skiptrace now, it looks like it will be a standalone film. new writers and a new director with different comedic instincts could also help skiptrace stand out, but until we hear more, it certainly feels like a been - there - done - that project .
sam fell, director of the oscar nominated animated feature film' paranorman', attends the great british film reception at the british consul general' s residence, february 22, 2013 in los angeles, c ...
jackie chan’s comedy action film “skiptrace” jumped to a $ 60 million four day opening in china, where it bounced far ahead of fellow openers and holdovers alike. the film released on thursday (july 21) and charged off to a $ 14. 7 million opening day. over the friday to sunday period it took a further $ 44. 0 million, [ … ]
rising international star fan bingbing will star opposite action icon jackie chan in skiptrace. the english - language film is based on an original idea by chan about a hong kong detective and american gambler who set out to take down hong kong' s most notorious criminal .
it didn’t hurt that the $ 60m production of skiptrace starred another beloved local star, fan bingbing. the film also debuted in malaysia, singapore, indonesia, vietnam, romania and bulgaria for a total gross of $ 64m in seven markets handled by bloom international .
the film was number - one on its opening in china, grossing us $ 60 million. the film has grossed a total of cn¥870 million at the chinese box office. on rotten tomatoes, the film has a rating of 36% , based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 4. 2 / 10. (wikipedia )
kung fu star jackie chan revealed on sunday in beijing that his life was at stake at one point during the filming of his new movie
skiptrace .
‘skiptrace” will be produced as a sino co - production by exclusive media and china’s talent intl. , which will also co - finance the film. chan and david gerson are producing. cyrte investments’ charlie coker, who brought the project in, will exec producer with cyrte .
, director of the oscar nominated animated feature film' paranorman', attends the great british film reception at the british consul general' s residence, february 22, 2013 in los angeles, california. the 85th academy awards ...
sam fell, director of the oscar nominated animated feature film' paranorman', attends the great british film reception at the british consul general' s residence, february 22, 2013 in los angeles, c... pictures | getty images
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
exclusive media has come aboard to co - produce and co - finance the movie with beijing' s talent international film co .
sam fell attends the great british film reception at british consul general’s residence on february 22, 2013 in los angeles, california .
with snc’s arrival the film is now produced and financed by talent international film company and dasym media (formerly cyrte investments). snc owns all rights outside china and is selling off u. s. rights. bloom is handling international sales on snc’s behalf .
nine films have been nominated across ten film categories including best film, best director, best screenplay, best cinematography, best leading actor, best leading actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best animation, and best production design. recognized films include: mountain cry, skiptrace, da tang xuan zang, night peacock, three, book of love, kung fu panda 3, qing wa zong dong yuan, and happiness .
in a pre - cannes deal, exclusive media has come on board to produce and co - finance sam fell ’s action comedy “skiptrace, ” starring jackie chan and bingbing fan .
skiptrace is a movie made to serve a number of competing interests and markets, and in trying to offer the proverbial something for everybody, it ends up possessing a very limited appeal .
[ us ] skiptrace (2016): a detective from hong kong (jackie chan) teams up with an american gambler (johnny knoxville) to battle against a notorious chinese criminal .
“cold war, ” the hong kong crime action film, lost most of its screens to make way for “skiptrace. ” consequently, it plummeted from first to sixth and saw its weekend score collapse from $ 15. 8 million to $ 3. 02 million. after 17 days it stands on $ 96. 8 million .
there' s a genuine drive and need for chinese companies to expand beyond china ,
said jeffrey chan, chief operating officer of bona film group ltd. , which announced at the shanghai international film festival that it plans to produce 26 films during the next 18 months .
[ us ] skiptrace (2016): a detective from hong kong (jackie chan) teams up with an american gambler (johnny knoxville) to battle against a notorious chinese criminal. : netflixbestof
as a producer on the project, chan’s role ensures that production quality matches or exceeds international standards, particularly in the film’s use of numerous stunning natural locations and colorful local extras. the filmmakers have dedicated skiptrace to the memory of chan kwok - hung, the original cinematographer on the project, who drowned in a marine accident during shooting .
in another key development, exclusive media has come aboard to co - produce and co - finance the action comedy with beijing - based production and distribution company talent international film co. , guaranteeing that the film will get a slot at the chinese box office. david gerson is producing .
the biggest market for this ellen degeneres, albert brooks - voiced film is china with $ 38. 4m followed by australia with $ 35m .
sam fell, director of the oscar nominated animated feature film' paranorman', attends the great british film reception at the british consul general' s residence, february 22, 2013 in los angeles, california. the 85th academy awards show will take place in hollywood california february 24 .
hong kong — a cinematographer was killed on wednesday in hong kong during the filming of jackie chan - starring film “skiptrace. ” chan kwok - hung is understood to have drowned in an accident that occurred when a boat he was on capsized off lantau island. according to the south china morning post, it is understood to have happened [ … ]
twenty years ago ren negotiated what a press release said was china’s first revenue - sharing import film, the legend of drunken master starring jackie chan .
the film, now officially titled skiptrace, will follow a hong kong detective, played by chan, who must track down a mouthy american gambler on the run from creditors. the two unlikely partners then team up to take on hong kong' s most notorious criminal, while embarking on a wild journey through china' s most scenic and exotic locales .
it’s amazing how exasperatingly annoying johnny knoxville can be, especially when he’s forced to be smarmy and charming. “skiptrace” dredges up every east vs west stereotype in the book and throws it at the audience in the form of what are presumably jokes that fall flat at every turn. it’s a dismal jackie chan buddy film that offers nothing besides a different western face .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
china is a very big market, but access to that market is very specific and defined. only a few entities have access to distribution in china, the most important one being the china film group corp. , which is tied to sarft, the state administration of radio, film, and television .
the set pieces seem more like an excuse to make as many things explode as possible, rather than thrill you with well - choreographed fights. it chucks aside jackie chan’s skills in favour of yet another collapsing structure. so if you’re watching “skiptrace” in the hope of seeing him execute fluid martial arts moves, you’ll be sorely disappointed at the fights in the film .
action hero jackie chan rises above uninspired sex jokes and a weak co - star in martial arts / road movie hybrid skiptrace, a midnight run - style buddy comedy that shackles chan to jackass star johnny knoxville .
chan, who hatched the idea, is producing with brian gatewood, esmond ren, damien saccani and charlie coker. jay longino, brian gatewood & alessandro tanaka, geoff moore & david posamentier, and bendavid grabinski all had a hand in the script and rodney rothman is polishing. dasym entertainment and beijing - based talent international film are co - financing and co - producing. notably, skiptrace got approved as a co - production by china’s state administration of radio, film and television (sarft) – helped by the fact that chan and bingbing are two of china’s most popular superstars. the film is shooting in inner mongolia, beijing, hong kong, macau and guangxi .
in fact, argentina had a record - breaking no. 1 debut with $ 4m at 195 dates — the biggest opening weekend ever for an animated film and the second biggest opening ever for any film (only behind fast & furious 7). similarly, chile opened with $ 1. 7m at 60 dates, which marks the biggest opening weekend for an animated film there (behind minions). colombia opened no. 1 with a big $ 1. 5m .
while skiptrace prioritizes fun in the vein of rush hour and other popcorn escapism, it’s also the kind of easily - translatable entertainment that can cross barriers. aside from the remix, skiptrace is the latest in an era where hollywood feverishly pursues the international box office. pacific rim, iron man 3, now you see me 2, and next year’s the great wall with matt damon are all major hollywood movies made with foreign audiences in mind .
when film directors work with jackie chan, a notorious perfectionist, the job demands flexibility and a knack for improvisation. discovering the locals loved adele was one such instance .
stateside, the film is going to have an exclusive window with directv first and then will get a theatrical release and an on - demand bow on september 2 courtesy of saban films and lionsgate, which are handling here. rated pg - 13, skiptrace is about a hong kong detective (chan) who has to team up with an american fugitive gambler (knoxville) to fight chinese bad guys .
when tackling his directorial debut in china with the explosive action - packed - comedy skiptrace, starring jackie chan, trailblazing film director renny harlin gambled everything when he uprooted his entire life, including his production company midnight sun pictures, from los angeles, ca, to move across the globe to china. “i put all my chips on red and spun the wheel, ” harlin, 57, says via email .
it’s when the film wears its cheap humour with pride that it works. like the scene that has bennie clinging to connor as they zipline over a gaping void. after slipping down connor quite a bit, a defiant bennie says, “hey, there’s nothing else to hang on to. ” the best part of the film for me was when a drunk bennie indulges in a mediocre rendition of adele’s ‘rolling in the deep’, and the mongolian herders join in. before you know it, it snowballs into a full - fledged performance. the scene has no bearing on the film, but it doesn’t matter. so long as there’s fun in the nonsense, the film doesn’t have to make sense .
emea next opens the film in norway on aug. 5 followed by the uae before launching into eastern europe in september. disney takes the film into south korea on aug. 11 and mexico on aug. 12 and will go into japan on sept. 17. next year, on jan. 1, it will take hold of italy via emea .
skiptrace is based on an original idea by chan about a hong kong detective who teams up with a fugitive american gambler to bring down hong kong’s most notorious criminal. jay longino wrote the story and brian gatewood and alessandro tanaka wrote the screenplay .
chan gave good drama teaching jaden smith kung fu in 2010’s the karate kid remake, for example, but he feels utterly at home and himself in a goofy movie like skiptrace. in spite of the film’s clumsy execution and exasperating juvenile streak, harlin captures some legitimately amusing action with the spry chan on a massively staged fight sequence set on a cargo ship that plays like a spiritual nod to titanic, or perhaps deep blue sea. it’s not a good movie by any measure, but in the film’s comedic moments he captures the chan we’ve come to love offstage, in interviews, and in life .
the film, believed to be one of the most expensive ever produced in china, is produced and financed by talent international film company and dasym media (formerly cyrte investments). co - financier, shanghai new media culture owns all rights outside china and is selling off u. s. rights. alex walton’s bloom is handling international sales on snc’s behalf .
in the end “skiptrace” was directed by renny harlin, who now calls beijing his home. hailing from finland, by way of hollywood, harlin has a forward deal with a chinese financier and has his next movie set up with alibaba pictures group .
there are times when you can’t help but wonder how many tourist boards might have contributed funding to the film, with lingering shots of the russian steppes, southern china and the sweeping mongolian countryside gracing the screen as the pair stalk their prey around the globe – lending the film a feel more akin to a michael palin travelogue than previous chan cop - movie outings .
glossy, colorful, and forgettable ,
skiptrace
is the kind of movie that gives you your money' s worth in sheer eager - to - please entertainment even as you roll eyes at the nth kick - to - the - crotch gag .
skiptrace earned first place internationally with $ 47. 37 million over the weekend for a total opening of $ 63. 04 million. the film dominated the box office in its native china with $ 45. 58 million last weekend for a four - day opening of $ 61. 25 million. this is the best opening in jackie chan' s career, but unfortunately, it is only getting a limited release here. more ...
the film, believed to be one of the most expensive ever produced in china, is produced and financed by talent international film company and dasym media (formerly cyrte investments). co - financier, shanghai new media culture owns all rights outside china and is selling off u. s. rights. alex walton' s bloom is handling international sales on snc' s behalf .
the purge: election year this horror film, which has an estimated worldwide cume of $ 89. 4m, opened in five markets this weekend to bring its total market play to 29. the latest installment of the blumhouse productions and platinum dunes film’s weekend estimate is $ 3. 7m for a tally of $ 12. 7m. the domestic gross sits at $ 76. 6m .
“we’ve signed jackie chan and johnny knoxville to star; our work is done, ” said apparently everyone involved in the unintelligible action comedy “skiptrace. ” the trouble is, pairing two guys who have been amusing individually in the past doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be amusing together .
the film is a chinese - hk production, and the characters speak both chinese and english (yes, even knoxville). it originally was going to be last year’s christmas release in china, but then it was changed to this summer. the chinese press is saying that it could be the only chinese - language film that could gross 1 billion rmb (which translates to $ 153m) .
with his distinct authorship and prolific nature, a chan movie like
skiptrace
is basically an act of tradition. the action is the primary spectacle and the values have been consistent for decades, some more endearing (the mentality of “i don’t want trouble! ” still guides chan through combat) than others (the one - dimensional usage of women as damsels in distress, homophobia). in particular, the goofy fun of “skiptrace
nudges that even chan' s pretty good, pinwheel - like films—amusing but familiar as they spin—are ageless .
perhaps mr. chan and mr. knoxville could have been, had someone made an effort to provide them with funny material and a coherent story. instead, “skiptrace” settles for a warmed - over plot, tedious fight sequences and humor that’s heavy on crotch jokes and pratfalls .
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seven other film crew were on board, but they managed to swim the 30 meters to shore. neither jackie chan nor co - star fan bingbing are believed to have been on board at the time .
– leads a mongolian village in an on - film rendition of adele’s 2010 platinum hit “rolling in the deep, ” remixed with traditional instruments. but the scene was nearly cut – because of adele herself .
for all the film’s faults, there are a few laughs to be had – though the humour is never exactly sophisticated – and the scenery of the international locations is at times worth a watch in itself .
the film opens next in germany on july 28, followed closely by japan on the 30th. the top five key markets for this film (outside of china) is mexico with an $ 11. 9m cume, the u. k. with $ 10. 6m, russia with $ 8. 2m and france which is good for $ 8. 1m. australia is not far behind with $ 7. 8m .
“ baahubali, ” the 2015 smash hit south indian fantasy action film, opened on saturday (july 23) and managed an opening $ 540, 000 in two days. that was good enough for ninth place .
beijing talent international media co. is the chinese company behind the film. the local press is reporting that beijing talent worked out a deal with alibaba, shanghai hehe films and tianjin lianrui pictures for the production budget and distribution and marketing costs and in return made a minimum box office guarantee of 1 billion rmb. the same deal apparently was cut for the box office hit the mermaid — which ended up as china’s highest - grossing film ever .
veteran producers and financiers who have been working in the chinese film industry for years said the opportunities for u. s. filmmakers are there if you know where to look, but china differs from hollywood in key ways .
full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. for more information, please contact us at research @ urltoken .
the success of “ skiptrace ” not only reconfirms chan’s enduring star power, it also substantially justifies his role as a force behind the scenes as a producer. chan has personally nurtured this buddy comedy cum china travelogue project for many years, enduring changes of financier, co - star and director along the way .
knoxville, who most recently starred in jackass presents: bad grandpa and provided the voice of leonardo in teenage mutant ninja turtles, is repped by caa and 3 arts. wme reps chan, bingbing and longino and wme global is repping domestic. alex walton and ken kao’s bloom are handling international sales on skiptrace ?
‘skiptrace” is based on chan’s original idea and written by jay longino with the gatewood and alessandro tanaka co - writing. story follows a hong kong detective (chan) tracking down a mouthy american gambler on the run from his creditors. the pair form an unlikely partnership to take down hong kong’s most notorious criminal .
so does it matter that skiptrace is a messy sprawl, coarsely and occasionally offensive, and will probably be barely seen stateside as it opens in limited theaters next month? (it’s currently available on vod via directv .) not as much, i’d argue, as the idea that jackie chan loves adele and alpacas and looks like he’s having a blast in a vehicle that dads like him all over the world might enjoy. at times, skiptrace feels like the most jackie chan movie jackie chan has made, certainly in recent years, and possibly ever. let’s let him live his truth and keep rolling in the deep .
though there have been a small number of u. s. - based productions, and an even smaller number of u. s. - china co - productions that have shot there with american directors, to his knowledge skiptrace is the first real co - production. this means that producers and financing came from both countries, as did the creative collaboration in the development of the script, casting of the actors and the production itself. skiptrace was approved by the chinese government as a chinese movie, which made it possible for it to bypass the u. s. release quota system and the non - chinese release blackout periods .
paramount said that the heatwave in europe negatively impacted the weekend’s box office results for the film which was 35% above the first star trek, star trek beyond is 14% below into darkness and only 2% below pacific rim .
from disney, it opened in one new market – vietnam ($ 250k start). the family film also opened in france (distributed by metropolitan), benelux, germany (distributed by constantin), austria, scandinavia and switzerland .
“after a career spanning 40 years, jackie chan is at the top of his game and we are delighted to be partnering with him and our friends at cyrte on skiptrace – it’s a fun, action filled script and has the hallmark of a blockbuster hit, ” said exclusive media co - chairmen nigel sinclair and guy east .
“ skiptrace ” is the story of a hong kong detective (jackie chan) and a fast - talking american gambler (johnny knoxville) on a massive chase across china on the trail of a gangster who has kidnapped the cop’s niece (fan). direction is by renny harlin (“die hard 2, ” “cliffhanger”) .
the film was conceived by chan and is written by jay longino, with revisions provided by brian gatewood & alessandro tanaka, geoff moore & david posmentier, ben david grabinski, jack donaldson & derek elliott, rodney rothman, and jordan rubin .
“skiptrace” is an action comedy about a disgraced hong kong police officer and supposedly charming american conman who have to team up against a diabolical threat. they find themselves crossing mongolia together in the process. it stars jackie chan (bennie chan), fan bingbing (samantha), and johnny knoxville (connor watts). it is rated pg .
he’s enjoying this new chapter in his life with his first hit film in almost 20 years, which is more than half of his career. “it’s been a long and humbling road. ” he quotes his old friend, and star of two of his movies, sylvester stallone, “he once said to me: ‘it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up. ’ i never forgot those words. they kept me going even in the toughest of times. i’m glad i got up one more time for skiptrace. it changed my life. ”
chan has been developing an action - comedy idea for a while now, but according to coming soon, the film now has a title, and plot synopsis - along with, possibly the most important part of all, a financier in exclusive media .
yet, so long as the fights keep coming, skiptrace doesn’t quite seem like the worst way to spend your time. and they do, including one brawl that happens in muddy water that i thought could have been milked better, and the other that has bennie stuck in a barrel. the film, however, seems wary of being the cheap buddy comedy that it is, and so, tries to turn on the feels, every now and then. there’s a bit about benny’s watch, that he carries in remembrance of a promise he made his partner. there’s the underlying, apparently deep idea of bennie losing a partner, and gaining another through the course of the film. there’s even a scene in which connor almost wells up while telling bennie about never knowing his parents. it’s perhaps the least affecting emotional scene i’ve seen in a while .
skiptrace, jackie chan’s action comedy directed by renny harlin, opened in china to no. 1 as it kicked warner bros. ’ the legend of tarzan to no. 2. ice age: collision course made history this weekend as fox’s franchise pushed over the $ 3b mark in box office receipts to become the top animated franchise ever, surpassing shrek .
skiptrace
is the story of a hong kong detective (jackie chan) and a fast - talking american gambler (johnny knoxville) on a massive chase across china on the trail of a gangster who has kidnapped the cop' s niece (fan). direction is by renny harlin (
die hard 2 ,
cliffhanger
) .
in its better moments, skiptrace recalls a hope - crosby road picture, with chan and knoxville wending their way through a cartoon version of asia via increasingly preposterous modes of transportation (train, three - wheeler truck, horse, inflated sheepskin raft, zipline), with stop - offs at a mongolian wrestling match and chinese mud festivals. this comic - book travelogue of asia is filled with picturesque locations, ranging from the stilt houses of tai o to vast rice terraces, but the overall tone is one of labored wackiness. where the hope - crosby pictures were premised on the easy rapport between their two stars, the bloated action - comedy machinery of skiptrace prevents any real chemistry from forming between chan and knoxville .
shanghai new media culture has boarded as co - financier on the now in - production jackie chan action adventure vehicle “skiptrace. ” at the afm alex walton’s new outfit bloom is handling international sales, which were previously represented by exclusive media. the story follows a hong kong detective and a fast - talking american gambler on a massive chase across china [ … ]
the bfg disney, steven spielberg, walden media’s family offering, the bfg had a rather large success this weekend as it edged out star trek beyond from the no. 1 spot in the u. k. market where it is handled by eone. the cgi film grabbed a total of $ 6. 96m for the no. 1 spot. the film had a bigger debut in the u. k. than paddington and it marks the best eone opening for a non - sequel. it also marks the second biggest opening for a dahl - adapted film in that country (only behind charlie and the chocolate factory) and is also spielberg’s third biggest opening ever in the u. k. only behind indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull and war of the worlds .
the movie, however, began to gather steam weeks before the release date during skiptrace’s press tour in china. “i saw first - hand how excited the audiences were. i started hoping for a miracle, but i was too afraid to say it aloud: could this be the one? ” when the opening weekend results came in, harlin broke down in tears .
things turned around for harlin when he traveled to china six years ago. he’d been approached to make a movie about genghis khan and spent a few weeks there scouting locations, which gave him an opportunity to see china for the first time. “that project didn’t come to fruition, but china left a strong mark on me, ” harlin reflects. when the producers of skiptrace approached him in february 2014, he was ready to get on board. with this film, he felt he had a chance to return to his roots. “i was able to mix action with epic settings and add comedy into the mix, which i love .
there was some good news this weekend for the film which opened in egypt, france, latvia, panama and french - switzerland. france opened no. 3 and grossed $ 1. 7m for the weekend, marking the biggest opening of the purge franchise. likewise, egypt, latvia, french - switzerland and panama all chalked up the biggest openings of all installments. the film releases in the rest of its territories over the next few months with most of the major markets still to come. belgium, italy and russia open next weekend .
once their journey kicks off with chan pushing a tied - up, hobbling knoxville through a matryoshka factory while fighting off bad guys ,
skiptrace
becomes compulsively watchable. the energy hardly slacks as the set pieces keep changing every five minutes, offering multiple jungle gyms for chan and company. and there’s always a spark to how the upper - hand shifts between the fast bennie and the snaky connor, the two exchanging punctuating grins. chan’s charisma is a no - brainer for this type of elasticity, but knoxville is an animated match. he’s always had an inclusive nature to him, whether famously welcoming us to mtv' s “jackass” or boasting a big, contagious laugh in the series, and he fits neatly with “skiptrace’”s light, slapstick tone .
the golden screen awards is presented by the u. s. china film and television industry (ucfti) association, and executive produced by spike jones, jr. and sj2 entertainment. for more information on the golden screen awards and its nominees, please visit goldenscreenawards. com .
at 62, chan is still doing his own stunts, and if these are necessarily scaled down from his heyday of crawling on hot coals and dangling from helicopters, he still manages to maintain his winking charisma and comic energy. he’s such an engaging performer that he even manages to enliven knoxville’s usual reprobate shtick merely through his presence. but there’s little space between the constant gags, overblown set pieces, and manic score (which parodies everything from spaghetti westerns to russian folk dances) for either chan or knoxville to establish a unique comedic identity for the film. and so skiptrace ultimately feels simply perfunctory, the outlines of a reasonably entertaining action comedy waiting to be filled in .
the top market for the film right now is brazil with $ 16. 6m followed by germany with $ 14. 5m and the u. k. with $ 13. 6m. next comes mexico with an $ 11. 4m cume and then australia with $ 8. 8m .
some high - profile flops have turned harlin into a glib “world’s worst director” punchline, alongside uwe boll and michael bay. yet while he’s made no shortage of disposable films, he’s arguably never made a dull one. “skiptrace” remains lively, diverting, and essentially good - natured even when it’s cheerfully dumb, exploiting its diverse locations for every last drop of local color. stunt and fx work aren’t always completely convincing, but any action bit that falls a bit flat as a result (like the early domino - collapse of dockside houses, or a too - obviously green - screened voyage across a gorge via suspension rope) is quickly forgotten in the film’s hurtling - forward momentum .
internationally, the release pattern was different in terms of markets in release for into darkness, however. in the u. k. , where the performance of the franchise has been consistently solid, it was edged out this weekend by steven spielberg’s family film the bfg (see below) .
the film enjoys two big draws for chinese audiences — both chan and bingbing are beloved there. chan is so popular in china that his last film dragon blade grossed $ 121. 5m and comparable films such as police story and chinese zodiac 2012 grossed a whopping $ 87. 3m and $ 139. 6m, respectively, in china. the chinese - hk production was originally scheduled for a christmas release last year but was smartly moved to this summer. it will be distributed in the u. s. by saban and lionsgate via on demand and theatrical (see related story here) .
july 19th, 2016 (wide) (china) july 22nd, 2016 (wide), released as дим да ни няма (bulgaria) july 29th, 2016 (wide), released as skiptrace - missione hong kong (italy) august 11th, 2016 (wide) (netherlands) august 19th, 2016 (wide), released as una pareja dispareja (mexico)... show all releases
lights out with a strong performance stateside, this horror film debuted this weekend in the key markets of russia and australia along with 30 smaller eastern european and asian markets and it paid off big time. with a solid $ 8. 5m cume from 3, 737 runs, this one clearly benefited being released on the heels of james wan’s big global box office success the conjuring 2. the film, which marks the feature helming debut of david f. sandberg, carried the wan name (if only in producing capacity) and the studio was able to build a nice marketing campaign on that .
that’s the ballsiest conceit of skiptrace: that every cliché and gag and set up has a purpose, and that is to fulfill the terms of its own convenience in service of a punchline first, and a plot second. and yet you might find actual thoughts sneaking their way into your brain. as it zips along its dizzying series of locales with hilarious brevity, skiptrace makes you appreciate the greater asiatic region, and marvel at how the emerging ticket - buying populations of russia and china are connected geographically. as you watch chan and knoxville desperately blow up hollowed - out pig carcasses with their mouths so that they may float down a river on a raft made of them, you may appreciate the raw natural beauty of the continent and its flora and fauna and the resourcefulness of the ancient chinese who did the same .
in china, “tarzan” opened on tuesday (july 19) and topped the charts for two days. over the friday to sunday period “tarzan” earned $ 12. 0 million. its six day cumulative is $ 22. 5 million. on the days the two leaders went head to head “skiptrace” enjoyed market share in excess of 56% , while “tarzan” was capped at 16% , according to data from cbo .
chinese companies are interested in making co - productions with the u. s. and other western countries, which might be the bridge that could help a film cross cultural boundaries. u. s. studios, financiers and independent companies are eager to seek financing and partnerships in china, as well .
with eight more territories to release, next weekend will see the buddy action film open in chile and colombia with argentina on deck for aug. 14. belgium, france and french - switzerland will come next on aug. 24, with venezuela debuting two days later and then brazil on sept. 1 .
the quick ramp - up of film production means there is a shortage of technical expertise and a demand for foreign crews to work on chinese films. many chinese producers are bringing in foreign directors of photography, assistant directors, production designers, editors, action choreographers and composers to help them make better movies .
from disney, the film grossed $ 1. 8m from its six territories for an international cume to date of $ 20. 7m. with emea’s weekend tally of $ 11. 1m and $ 18. 1m to date, the total international cume to date is $ 39m on a weekend of $ 13m .
prospects look rather more modest for saban films' u. s. release, although the typically quiet labor day weekend could provide opportunity for the movie to build word of mouth over the holiday frame. overall, the film' s cume should continue to grow significantly as it rolls out internationally into next year .
updated, monday, 1: 56 pm: international weekend grosses for two of the three openers came in higher than expected — in one case over $ 20m higher than anticipated as the jackie chan action comedy skiptrace opened in china to a big $ 62. 2m and gives chan a new record in china (see related story). in seven markets, its international total after one weekend in play is now $ 64m .
linde says the china film landscape is a bit like the wild west right now, which could mean new opportunities may be developing on the horizon .
you can go into the theatrical market, then very quickly go into the ancillary markets, and that creates amazing potential for all of us ,
linde said .
“this movie is about an adventure that brings together different cultures, and we are excited to begin, with our partners at cyrte and exclusive, the adventure of making a true us - china co - production that will appeal to audiences around the world, ” said president esmond ren of beijing - based talent international film co .
with energetic action and comedy set - pieces staged across russia, mongolia and china, the film’s ambitions sometimes outstrip the resilience of jay longino and bendavid grabinski’s largely derivative script, but in the end, it’s hard to top chan soloing on adele’s “rolling in the deep” accompanied on traditional instruments by a village of yurt - dwelling mongolian herders .
the general silliness is underlined by some broadly jokey soundtrack choices, typical of an overall package that is resourcefully and professionally splashy if not always classy. along with the usual blooper clips, the end credits sport a dedication to chan kwok - hung, a cinematographer and longtime chan collaborator who died in a drowning accident during the film’s production .
more in the vein of chan’s hollywood buddy movies like rush hour or shanghai noon than the classic' 80s kung fu comedy genre that he helped originate, skiptrace finds the still - limber hong kong superstar settling into a more sedate format that could remain serviceable for even another decade. in their first collaboration, chan and finnish action director renny harlin scored an impressive $ 60 million china debut over the july 22 weekend, the highest - grossing opener for either of them .
add to that a little counter - programming in lionsgate’s female - driven comedy bad moms — also opening day and date in the u. s. the r - rated comedy may just find its audience the way the hangover did abroad and that film’s’ writer / directors jon lucas and scott moore are also the power and creators of bad moms .
chan’s dedication to the tastes proven of mass audiences has resulted in more than a few generic, by - committee - type exercises, particularly among those aimed largely at western viewers. long - in - the - works “skiptrace, ” which at earlier points was to be directed by sam fell (“paranorman”), with seann william scott in the role knoxville inherited, initially has that uninspired feel of trying to check off too many boxes with too many well - worn genre tropes .
lights out, the horror film that opened to strong numbers stateside, also ended up a smidgen higher with $ 8. 5m. no changes for star trek beyond ‘s international debut of $ 30m, which will be facing stiff competition this coming weekend as universal pictures international unleashes another jason bourne staring matt damon and this year’s academy award winner alicia vikander .
los angeles, ca - - (marketwired - october 27, 2016) - the u. s. china film & television expo announced its nominees for the inaugural golden screen awards, a ceremony that honors production companies, films, directors, actors, and producers for excellence in chinese - international co - production films. the awards show, in partnership with the motion picture association (mpa), the hollywood reporter and china film co - production corporation, follows the second day of the ucfti expo' s executive panel discussions on november 3, with a red carpet and cocktail reception starting at 6 pm and the awards show starting at 8pm pdt, at aeg live event deck in downtown los angeles .
chan added that he still maintains real kung fu in the film, instead of seeking help from cgi special effects .
everybody works with a green screen now, but the hardest thing to do is to create real action ,
chan said ,
i' m not a fan of high - tech effects, i just like raw and simple things .
though american audiences haven' t seen jackie chan since the karate kid remake, that doesn' t mean the 59 - year - old international star has slowed down. he may be taking it easier on the kicking and punching, but after starring in and directing the chinese historical epic 1911, chan showed he' s as active in the film business as ever .
ice age: collision course in its fourth weekend in play, ice age: collision course grossed $ 29m in its 60 markets to bring in a total international cume to date of $ 177. 7m. and it needs it. stateside, the franchise is waning with a lackluster debut this weekend of only $ 21m. the global cume is basically at $ 200m ($ 199m). all in, this weekend, the grosses the film earned both stateside and abroad helped its studio pass shrek as the global king of animated franchises as it pushed over $ 3 billion at the box office (see above). and it’s far from over as the animated family film still has another 17 markets yet to bow including china on august 23rd .
also opening will be league of gods, which is opening in china, the u. k. , and australia, to name a few. this home - grown chinese film is expected to do well in the middle kingdom. below are all updated final grosses, including for the bfg which took the no. 1 spot in the u. k. this weekend.
skiptrace is a 2016 hong kong-chinese-american action comedy film directed by renny harlin , produced , starring and based on a story by jackie chan . the film co-stars johnny knoxville and fan bingbing it was released in china on july 21 , 2016 and in the united states on september 2 , 2016 . 
skiptrace is a 2016 hong kong-chinese-american action comedy film directed by renny harlin, produced, starring and based on a story by jackie chan. the film co-stars johnny knoxville and fan bingbing it was released in china on july 21, 2016 and in the united states on september 2, 2016.
skiptrace is a 2016 hong kong-chinese-american action comedy film directed by renny harlin, produced, starring and based on a story by jackie chan. the film co-stars johnny knoxville and fan bingbing it was released in china on july 21, 2016 and in the united states on september 2, 2016.