Intro for July 13, 2026
– 2 min read
Dear Gossips,
This weekend marked the 25th anniversary of the release of one of the most iconic films in Hong Kong cinematic history and a comedy that’s well-known around the world. Probably most people who play soccer know this movie: Shaolin Soccer, directed by and starring Stephen Chow.
Shaolin Soccer broke box office records in Hong Kong when it was released in 2001, a standard that Stephen surpassed himself a few years later with Kung Fu Hustle. We won’t talk about how dirty Harvey Weinstein did the movie for its western release but if that’s the only version you’ve seen, please do consider watching the cut that Stephen approves. Which is screening at the New York Asian Film Festival this week ahead of the FIFA World Cup final this weekend.
Shaolin Soccer is dementedly stupid – in the best possible way. It’s about a group of Shaolin disciples who apply their martial arts skills to the sport. There are movie references all over the place from Looney Tunes to Bruce Lee. This is not prestige comedy, LOL, but if you allow yourself to let the absurdity take over, it is such a good time. I have seen this movie over 30 times but the facial expressions and the physical comedy in this scene still make me laugh. When the keeper stops the ball with one hand and the camera pans out to him model-posing with the other hand casually tucked in his pocket, I lose my mind every time.
Like I said, this sh-t is dumb as f-ck but that’s often how classics become cult. And, for the uninitiated, trust me, there is so much love for Shaolin Soccer – not just in China but around the world, and especially among those who love the sport.
This summer, a quarter century after the release of the original, and of course timed to the World Cup, the sequel, Kung Fu Soccer, is now playing in China. All kinds of irony here because Stephen was pressured to change the title of Shaolin Soccer back in the day when mainland Chinese authorities and the Shaolin Temple wouldn’t let him licence the Shaolin name, so it was never screened there. And now, 25 years later, Kung Fu Soccer just opened big in China this weekend with almost $75 million in two days. This time it’s a women’s kung fu team, same silly mess, although Stephen does not appear in the film since he quit acting almost 20 years ago. Will be interesting to see if it gets a western release. But on a weekend when live action Moana seriously underperformed, it’s another reminder to qualify how we talk about the “biggest movies at the box office” and where they come from.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
