Dragon Blade achieved extraordinary sneaks results at Singapore box office
The epic Chinese New Year blockbuster Dragon Blade sneaks last weekend (13 - 15 February), grossing S$147,662 in ticket sales within 3 days and made it to the No. 4 spot amidst strong competition. The sneaks result is extraordinary as Dragon Blade sneaks only with midnight and partial afternoon shows last weekend. Dragon Blade will be released island-wide on eve of Chinese New Year, 18 February.
“We are very happy with the sneaks results for Dragon Blade. The word of mouth is also very strong among the local audience. Dragon Blade proves to be Jackie Chan’s best work in recent years,” said Joyce Lee, Managing Director, Encore Films. “We are happy to partner Golden Village Pictures to bring this quality movie to Singapore during Chinese New Year.”
Seven years in the making, DRAGON BLADE is an epic in the history of Chinese cinema. Filmed on a record-breaking budget of US$65 million, the tale about the legend of two powerful forces, set during the era of China’s Western Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire. The international ensemble of characters creates a global perspective on peacekeeping and righteousness that has not been touched upon in previous Chinese-language films. It tells the story of the accidental encounter between Huo An, the Commander of the Protection Squad of the Silk Road who leads a peacekeeping force, and a Roman troop lost in China. The climax of the film lies in the showdown between the three superstars, Jackie Chan, John Cusack and Adrien Brody.
In Beijing, the movie has received many high praises. Senior film critic Zeng Nianqun says, ‘In the movie, we see the battle scene in which various armies fight against each other. It’s such a spectacular scene and so well-executed.’ Hu Yajie, the culture and entertainment deputy editor of Beijing Youth Daily, expresses that Dragon Blade contains all the elements needed in a commercial movie, including action choreography, emotion, strong impact and the details of the 36 nations such as languages and clothes. It is definitely a movie worth watching. Amidst all, it is the grand battle scenes that win most admiration. Film and television producer Song Ziwen says, ‘Such large scale war scene in Dragon Blade is a very rare sight in Jackie Chan’s movies. It gives us a big nice surprise.’ Hu Jianli, the culture and entertainment editor of Beijing Times also expresses that Dragon Blade is the biggest war movie seen in recent years; moreover, it has a narrative of a Hollywood film. When Zeng Nianqun, a senior film critic, talks about these spectacular scenes, he explains that the battle between the nations in the Western Region and the Roman troop is something that has never been depicted in Chinese films. He points out that in the competitive release schedule during the Chinese New Year, the ‘grand scale’ will make Dragon Blade the winner.
Furthermore, everyone cannot agree more with the theme, ‘Turn foes into friends and live together in peace’, conveyed in the film. The renowned musician Keerqinfu regards Dragon Blade as an ‘anthem that unites the nations in the Western Region’. Film critic Sima Pingbang praises Dragon Blade as Jackie Chan’s best movie; whether it is the story, meaning or action choreography, it is just so brilliant.
Dragon Blade is directed by the famous Hong Kong director Daniel Lee, starring Jackie Chan, who is also the executive producer, including Hollywood star John Cusack, Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody, Korean-pop idol Choi Siwon from Super Junior and talented Chinese actresses Lin Peng and Wang Ruoxin.
Dragon Blade is co-distributed by Encore Films and Golden Village Pictures in Singapore. It is scheduled to open islandwide on the eve of Chinese New Year, 18th February.
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JACKIE CHAN'S 'DRAGON BLADE' STAR TOUR DETAILS CONFIRMED
Superstars Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Choi Siwon, Lin Peng and Wang Ruo Xin will be in Singapore from 9th to 11th February to promote the upcoming Chinese New Year action blockbuster, DRAGON BLADE. The stars are set to embark on a flurry of promotional activities in Singapore, their 1st stop in Asia.
An entourage of 25 will be arriving Singapore from Beijing by two private jets on Monday, 9th February at 6.30am. They will kick start their series of activities for the movie the next day with a press conference. The press conference will be held at Pan Pacific Hotel at 10.00am on 10th February, where the stars will field questions from our Singapore media regarding their roles in the movie.
In the evening at 7pm, the Dragon Blade stars will proceed to nex to make their first public appearance for the promotional event. Local fans can look forward to meeting their idols at nex’s Level 1 Atrium. At 8.30pm, the Dragon Blade stars will grace the red carpet at the Singapore Gala Premiere of Dragon Blade, to be held at Golden Village Vivocity located at 1 HarbourFront Walk. A large turn-out of over 2,100 guests is expected at the Dragon Blade Singapore Gala Premiere which will include business partners, media and fans.
Jackie Chan and his entourage will leave Singapore the following day by their private jets.
DRAGON BLADE is a legendary blockbuster directed by the highly-acclaimed director, Daniel Lee (“14 Blades”, “Three Kingdoms”), starring Jackie Chan who also works as executive producer, John Cusack, Adrien Brody and Choi Siwon. This epic blockbuster is filmed at a budget of US$65 million, a record-breaking figure for a Chinese film.
DRAGON BLADE is a story set in 48BC during the Han Dynasty. Huo An (played by Jackie Chan), the Commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions, who protects China’s border and secures peace among warring tribes on the Silk Road. When a convoy of gold bearing a foreign insignia is discovered inside China, he is accused of treason and sent to the border as a slave laborer. With only a small group of his most loyal soldiers, including his right hand man, Yin Po (played by Choi Siwon), he must fight to survive in the prison camp. When a small army of Roman soldiers led by General Lucius (played by John Cusack) appears at the border gate, they outmatch the Chinese border guards. However when Huo An enters the battle, he single-handedly turns it around and earns the respect of Lucius. Among the Romans is a blind boy called Publius, the youngest son of Rome’s Consul Crassus. Crassus was assassinated by his ambitious eldest son, Tiberius (played by Adrien Brody), who is leading 100,000 soldiers towards the border gate, employing subterfuge to kidnap Lucius. This leads to a thrilling piece of history that has never before been told.
DRAGON BLADE is co-distributed by Encore Films and Golden Village Pictures in Singapore. It is scheduled for release on Chinese New Year’s Day, 19th February 2015 in Singapore.
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The gold armour seen in Dragon Blade is the sacred memento of General Huo Qubing. Facing the invasion of foreign soldiers, Huo An puts on the armour. When, later, General Lucius becomes Huo An’s loyal ally, the two men return the armour to the newly built temple, to protect the region from future conflicts.
When designing the suit of armour, director Daniel Lee incorporated traditional Chinese elements, including a recurring pattern of cirrus clouds that is also etched on the chest plate. The soft curls of the wispy clouds stand in sharp contrast to the masculine feel of the armour. The armour is among 100,000 film props, 60,000 of which have been handcrafted. To build and store the huge array of props, the production team had to build a factory with a floor area of 2,500m2.
Dragon Blade will be released in Singapore on the first day of the Chinese New Year, 19 Feb 2015.
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JACKIE CHAN AND CO-STARS TO PROMOTE 'DRAGON BLADE' IN SINGAPORE
Encore Films is thrilled to announce that action superstar Jackie Chan will be in Singapore from 9th to 11th Feb 2015 to promote the upcoming movie, Dragon Blade 天将雄狮. Joining him are his co-stars Academy Award best actor Adrien Brody, Hollywood A-lister John Cusack, K-pop heartthrob Choi Siwon (Super Junior) & famous Chinese actresses Lin Peng and Wang Ruoxin. Singapore will be their first stop in Asia!
Dragon Blade will be released in Singapore on the first day of the Chinese New Year, 19 Feb 2015.
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JACKIE CHAN GOES UP AGAINST JOHN CUSACK IN 'DRAGON BLADE'
As we come closer to the release of Jackie Chan's period action blockbuster, Dragon Blade, here is more news of what happened on the production set.
For a crucial scene in the movie, an intricately-designed machine of a Roman pulley system (Wild Geese Gate) was reconstructed without CGI and Jackie Chan worked together with the crew at every stage. He also refused to use a stunt double in the blazing sun and acted in the scorching weather for 2 hours. You can see more pictures of this below:
We also have photos of Jackie Chan going against John Cusack to share!
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Choi Si-won transforms into a desert hero in DRAGON BLADE
The shooting of Dragon Blade, the 3-D period action epic directed by Daniel Lee and starring Jackie Chan (who is also serving as executive producer), John Cusack and Adrien Brody, was completed last week. Today the production team publishes a set of stills, revealing the character portrayed by Choi Si-won in the film in which the Korean pop star transforms himself from a pop idol into a tough desert fighter.
Choi Si-won plays Yin Po, an officer of the Protectorate of the Western Regions. He is the right-hand man of his commander, Jackie Chan’s Huo An. Yin Po is not only a brilliant strategist but also a great fighter. The interactions between the three key characters played by Choi Si-won, Jackie Chan and Adrien Brody is one of the film’s most appealing elements. The appearance that Choi Si-won adopts is strikingly different from his previous roles. In the stills published by the production company, Choi Si-won sheds his pretty boy image to grow a beard, tying back his long hair as part of his transformation into a hardened desert hero. Choi says that he himself loved his new image, “[Superior Junior pop group member] Eun-hyuk made a bet that I’ll definitely shave off the beard later, but I myself really love this image”.
For the film, Choi Si-won travelled from Hengdian World Studios to Aksai and Dunhuang. The severe weather in the desert made it difficult shoot, especially the scorching sun; Choi Si-won became distinctly tanned. The armor he wore was so heavy that he was regularly drenched with sweat. Nonetheless, Choi Si-won appreciates the opportunity. He says, ‘Jackie Chan was so nice to me and looked after me in every aspect. Now I understand why everyone calls him, “big brother” as he protected us and provided us with good food and drink.’ The shooting of Dragon Blade was completed one week ago. Choi says that if there is any chance in the future, he would definitely want to work again with Jackie Chan.
Dragon Blade will be released across the globe on 2015 Chinese New Year’s Day (19th February 2015), at the start of the Chinese New Year festive season.
