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There’s an old saying that “you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family,” and let’s be honest—when your father is Jackie Chan, that’s like drawing the short straw in a lottery. The martial arts legend, whose fame stretches across decades, has dedicated his life to entertaining the world with his fearless stunts, charm, and unshakable love for his craft.

We’ve all seen Chan leap through windows, fight off baddies with a frying pan, and risk life and limb for our entertainment. But behind the scenes, this kung fu legend’s real battle was never with a bad guy in a black suit—it was with the messy, complicated world of family dynamics. And if there’s one thing the celebrated actor has learned the hard way, it’s that no amount of roundhouse kicks or heroic stunts can protect your family from the real world.

Action icon Jackie Chan has completed principal photography on “The Shadow’s Edge,” a high-stakes thriller that marks his second collaboration with Chinese helmer Larry Yang. The duo previously struck gold with “Ride On,” which dominated Asian box offices in 2023, becoming Japan’s highest-grossing Chinese import and landing among Malaysia’s top three Chinese releases of the year.

Set against the neon-lit backdrop of Macau, the film stars Chan as a veteran surveillance expert pulled out of retirement by the local police force. He’s tasked with mentoring a crack team of young detectives to hunt down an elusive gang of thieves that has been running circles around law enforcement. The narrative pits old-school surveillance tactics against cutting-edge tech in what’s being billed as a tension-filled game of cat and mouse.

The project assembles a powerhouse cast that bridges generations of Asian entertainment. Chan shares the screen with Zhang Zifeng,...

Hong Kong-based Golden Network Asia will commence sales on Jackie Chan-starrer The Shadow’s Edge, at the upcoming European Film Market (EFM).

Directed by Larry Yang, the action heist film stars Chan as a retired surveillance expert who is rehired by the Macau Police Force to team with elite young detectives and capture a group of wanted criminals. A cat-and-mouse showdown plays out between traditional tracking techniques and state-of-the-art technology.

Emerging actors include Zhang Zifeng of acclaimed 2021 drama Sister, Ci Sha of box office hit Creation Of The Gods I and its upcoming sequel, and Wen Junhui who is better...

“Railway Heroes” is a historical action spy thriller produced by the Huayi Brothers and set during the 1939 Sino-Japanese War in China in which a group of brave railway workers and resistance groups take on the Japanese to make life difficult for the foreign invaders. They are fronted by railway foreman Lao Hung who, together with his followers, are willing to risk their lives to fight for their freedom.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

First time director Yang has a great eye for details and it shows in his film. The harsh winter landscapes he portrays are amazing and beautiful to behold. But underneath, there is hostility, danger and death hidden in the shadows ready to strike. In addition, the way in which he pays great attention to the trains, their close-up shots of the wheels plus his creative use of steam and slow motion,...

Legendary superstar Jackie Chan is “at his best” (Variety) in Ride On,the adventure comedy for the whole family debuting on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD on October 24 from Well Go USA Entertainment. When debt collectors try—and fail—to seize a horse from a stuntman (Chan), video of the attempt goes viral. Furious, the debt collectors return, leading to hilarious, action-packed antics that outdo even the pair’s most daring acts. Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Larry Yang, Ride On also stars Kevin Guo (Adoring), Wu Jing, Xing Yu, and Andy On (New Police Story). Bonus material includes two behind-the-scenes featurettes and an English dub.

Synopsis:

After debt collectors attempt to seize the beloved stunt horse of washed-up aging stuntman Luo (Jackie Chan), video of the dynamic duo’s daring escape goes viral on social media, immediately reviving Luo’s movie career. But in the midst of this triumphant return to film,...

The veteran action star plays as a washed-up stuntman in the drama-comedy.

Hong Kong’s Golden Network Asia has closed sales of upcoming Jackie Chan action feature Ride On in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The film has sold to North America (Well Go USA), Germany (Plaion Pictures), Italy (Eagle Pictures), Eastern Europe, Benelux and Israel (Spi International), Cis (An Media), Turkey (Atv), Middle East (Phars Film), Japan (Twin Co. Ltd), South Korea (Contents Panda), Malaysia (Shanghai Pictures), Singapore (Shaw Renters), Taiwan and worldwide airlines (Eagle International), Indonesia (Prima Cinema), the Philippines (Pioneer Films) and India (Indo Overseas Film...

Hong Kong-based sales firm Golden Network has picked up international rights to Jackie Chan’s upcoming film “Ride On.”

The feature has recently wrapped production and is scheduled to be released on Dec. 31 in time for what is normally a peak cinemagoing period in China and elsewhere.

Asian films are currently struggling to achieve pre-sales in international markets, but “Ride On” could be an exception. Chan is reliably bankable in action and comedy films, with appeal in Asia, overseas diaspora territories and European TV, streaming and home entertainment markets.

“Ride On” is directed by one of China’s most bankable filmmakers, Larry Yang. Yang previously pleased critics with his 2015 rural drama “Mountain Cry” and then earned over 100 million at the box office with 2019 title “Adoring,” about six couples and their pets.

In “Ride On,” Chan stars as a washed-up stuntman who can barely make ends meet, let alone take care of his beloved stunt horse,...

The Chinese feature will be introduced to Cannes buyers.

Hong Kong’s Golden Network Asia has picked up international rights to Jackie Chan action comedy Ride On and will introduce the film during the Cannes Marché.

Larry Yang directs the Chinese feature, which stars Chan as an old stuntman who becomes a media sensation after a video of him fighting debt collectors alongside his trusty horse goes viral. The cast also includes Liu Haocun of Cliff Walkers and Kevin Guo, who starred in Yang’s previous feature Adoring.

The film is backed by Alibaba Pictures, Beijing Hairun Pictures and Zhejiang Hengdian Film,...

Who cares if the trailer for a film from China is dubbed into Spanish with no English subtitles when it's this packed with action? Not me. Of course, that doesn't mean S.W.A.T. Fuerza Letal (original title: Te Jing Dui) itself will live up to this trailer, but certainly it looks like a lot of fun, diverting action, wrapped around a plot that I could not decipher from a single viewing. The trailer arrives via Bf Distribution in Bolivia; the company also distributes films in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Ding Sheng directed; I've seen three of his past films, Railroad Tigers, Saving Mr. Wu and Little Big Soldier, so I'm anticipating another well-constructed action extravaganza, if it ever comes available here in the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ding Sheng is a Chinese film director and screenwriter, born in Qingdao, Shandong. His works include “Little Big Soldier”, “Police Story 2013” and “Railroad Tigers” all of which starred Jackie Chan. In 2013, he directed “Saving Mr Wu” while his latest project sees him giving a go at John Woo’s classic, “A Better Tomorrow”.

On the occasion of the film “A Better Tomorrow 2018” screening at Far East Film Festival, we speak with him about the pressure of remaking a masterpiece, Jackie Chan and Andy Lau, filming at home and the karma that links him to Hong Kong cinema.

Let’s start with the inevitable question. How the idea to remake this classic came about?

Actually “A Better Tomorrow 2018” was strongly wanted by the investor, I personally wouldn’t have thought the time was right to remake a classic that is still so close to us in time. The...

It’s been a good year for Beijing Culture, one of the lead production companies behind some the biggest films of the year in China.

The company began as a tourism-management entity overseeing popular historic sites of interest in Beijing, and only established its film division in 2016. Yet in the space of three years, it has been a driving force behind China’s two top-grossing films of all time – “Wolf Warrior 2,” which took in $847 million, and “The Wandering Earth,” which grossed $686 million and is still in theaters – as well as mega-hit “Dying to Survive” ($462 million at the B.O.) and “A Cool Fish,” the 10th highest-grossing locally produced film last year with a $119 million gross.

Last year, Beijing Culture made a net profit of $48.7 million, up 6% year-on-year, thanks to a rise in the profitability of its film business compared to previous years, according to Chinese media reports.

The company...

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.Over the last few years it has become increasingly easy to see mainstream Asian films in North America at the same time they are released in their home countries. Thanks to partnerships with small, international distributors, the major multiplex chains (AMC, Cinemark, Regal) have devoted a handful of screens in major markets to showing new releases from India, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Most of these titles fall under the radar of both critics and audiences outside the diasporic communities to which they are targeted. They play for a week or two and then disappear, outside of a handful of breakout titles. Last year Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid made headlines for its high per-screen averages in North America as it shattered domestic box office records in China.

The Chinese action-packed gangster drama The Game Changer will be available on Digital, Blu-ray & DVD from October 3 from Well Go USA Entertainment. The adaptation of the TV series “Shanghai Bund”, which was set during the gang wars of 1930’s Shanghai, stars Peter Ho (Sword Master) and Huang Zitao (Railroad Tigers) as brothers united to bring down a powerful gangster (Wang Xueqi, Iron Man 3).

The Game Changer (2017) (Source: Well Go USA)

The Game Changer features Peter Ho in the role of Lin Zihao and Huang Zitao in the role of Fang Jie as two escaped prisoners who join one of the most powerful gangs in Shanghai, the Green Gang, as the right-hand men of Wang’s Tang Hexuan – the head boss. When Mr. Tang tries to gain total control over business dealings in Shanghai with the conspiracy in which Lin Zihao is the most important part, he discovers his closest...

International action-comedy icon Jackie Chan (Rush Hour franchise, Railroad Tigers) is an Indiana Jones-style scholar hunting Indian treasure in the adventure-comedy Kung Fu Yoga, available on digital June 20 and on Blu-ray™ and DVD August 8 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Chan reunites with director Stanley Tong (Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop) for this fast-paced escapade that follows a professor on a quest that takes him from a Tibetan ice cave to Dubai to a mountain temple in India in order to locate a lost treasure. Kung Fu Yoga also stars Disha Patani (M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story), Amyra Dastur (Mr. X), Aarif Rahman (Young Bruce Lee) and Sonu Sood (Happy New Year). Bonus material includes bloopers, plus five behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Now you can own Kung Fu Yoga on Blu-ray. We Are Movie Geeks has Three copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question:...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

City of Tiny Lights (Pete Travis)

Small-time private detective Tommy Akhtar (Riz Ahmed) has all the swagger of a hard-boiled snoop: leather jacket on his shoulders and cigarette in his mouth, leaning against London architecture in the darkened night. His office resides above some shops, he makes friendly with local convenience store owner Mrs. Elbaz (Myriam Acharki), and asks new clients where they found him because he’s not advertising in the paper.

As we hit the halfway point of the year, it is time to look back over the past six months, specifically the cinematic offerings from Asia. This year’s crop of new releases has been a mixed bunch, with precious few standouts and far too many disappointments or half-baked efforts. We have been subjected to a pair of predictably sub-par Jackie Chan films (Railroad Tigers, Kungfu Yoga), an underwhelming crop of Chinese New Year blockbusters (Journey to the West 2), and even a drop in quality from Nikkatsu’s roman porno reboot project (White Lily and Dawn of the Felines). But all is not lost. There is some wheat amongst the chaff. Below you will find a dozen Asian titles I felt deserved singling out for...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The first official international trailer for Jackie Chan’s next, The Foreigner – an action thriller co-starring Pierce Brosnan – has just come out. The film is directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye), and also stars Katie Leung and Liu Tao.

A British-Chinese co-production, the film is based on the 1992 Stephen Leather novel The Chinaman, and showcases Chan in a role very different, and much darker, from the familiar guise of a heroic action figure we have seen him as in recent films like Railroad Tigers and Kung Fu Yoga.

Poster for the film The Foreigner (2017). Source: IMDb.com

In The Foreigner, Chan plays a Chinese restaurant owner, who loses his young daughter in a bombing that Brosnan’s Liam Hennessy, an Ira-man turned government minister, is responsible for. With no help from the police forthcoming, Chan sets out on a revenge mission to find the man responsible for his loss,...

Netflix has announced the list of films that will be available to stream in July. The list includes new never-before-seen original films, as well as documentaries, comedies, animated titles and some classic movies. Check out some of our favorite new offerings below, along with the complete list of all the new additions.

Read More: Netflix’s Next Big Move? Hacking the Oscars

1. “To the Bone” (available July 14)

Marti Noxon’s feature directorial debut was a hit out of Sundance, where the Lily Collins-starring drama about eating disorders won over audiences for its nimble ability to tell a compelling dramatic story interspersed with well-earned humor. Sketched from Noxon’s own experiences with anorexia and bolstered by a star turn from the always-reliable Collins, the film is both important and entertaining, and it should be able to reach a very wide audience on the streaming platform. Do not miss it.

2. “Punch-Drunk Love” (available July 1)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s lauded 2002 romantic dramedy features Adam Sandler in one of his few “hey, this guy can really act!” roles and includes some of the auteur’s most indelible shots and richest observations about life and love. It’s a modern classic, and now it can be piped right into your home. I’m lookin’ at your Netflix queue and I just wanna smash it. I just wanna fuckin’ smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it. It’s so pretty.

3. “Chasing Coral” (available July 14)

Jeff Orlowski won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at Sundance earlier this year for his newest feature, a stunning documentary about the fight to protect coral reefs from becoming extinct. Featuring breathtaking and distressing underwater footage, the movie puts into perspective just how endangered coral reefs are and tracks the effort to save them.

4. “Lion” (available July 9)

This heart-wrenching true story was an awards season juggernaut earlier this year, featuring stellar turns from Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel. Based on the unbelievable life of young Saroo Brierley, the feature follows his separation from his family and his startling trip back to them many years later, aided by — for real — Google Maps and his own indomitable heart. Bring tissues.

5. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (available July 18)

The very first standalone “Star Wars” spinoff follows a motley crew of rogues, criminals, rebels, and scallawags as they attempt to steal the plans to the monstrous Death Star in a bid to really just totally stick it to the Empire and Darth Vader. Knowing how it ends — they get them! and…some other stuff, too! — doesn’t dilute its tension and creativity, and it features a banger of an ensemble cast. Let this one tide you over before the next entry in the rapidly expanding movie universe.

6. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (available July 1)

The early part of the month is heavy on kid-leaning classics, from “Free Willy” to “The Mighty Ducks,” but it’s hard to top the potency of Steven Spielberg’s 1982 classic. Gather the whole family around the TV and get heavy on the Reese’s Pieces, and enjoy one of the best films ever made about childhood, friendship, and letting go.

Here are the rest of the incoming films for this July:

Available July 1

Titanic

Free Willy

Disney’s The Mighty Ducks

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

The Truth Is in the Stars

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang

The Invisible Guest (Contratiempo)

Albion: The Enchanted Stallion

Liar’s Dice

Boat Trip

Mixed Signals

Delicatessen

Caramel

Unriddle II

Unriddle

Emma

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Last Night

Out of Thin Air

The Longest Yard

Jackass: Number Two

Punch-Drunk Love

Are We There Yet?

Are We Done Yet?

The Land Before Time Dad

The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure

The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving

Here Alone

Spawn: The Movie

Code Name: The Cleaner

The Astronaut Farmer

Best in Show

Proof of Life

Matchstick Men

Taking Lives

Police Academy

Available July 3

Diamond Cartel

Extraordinary: The Stan Romanek Story

Available July 6

Speech & Debate

The Void

Butter

Available July 7

1 Mile to You (Life At These Speeds)

Available July 8

Bad Santa 2

Horse Dancer

Available July 9

Lion

Available July 14

To the Bone, Netflix Original

Chasing Coral, Netflix Original

Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile, Netflix Original

Available July 17

Uncertain Glory

A Cowgirl’s Story

Available July 18

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Available July 22

Railroad Tigers

Available July 24

Victor

Available July 28

The Incredible Jessica James, Netflix Original

Available July 31

After The Reality

Checkpoint

Dark Night

Taking Earth

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Railroad Tigers Arrives on Blu-ray and DVD June 20th From Well Go USA Entertainment

Hong Kong’s cheeky, lovable and best-known film star Jackie Chan (Rush Hour franchise) reunites with Director Ding Sheng (Little Big Soldier) for a third time withRAILROAD Tigers, debuting on digital May 9 and on Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Pack and DVD June 20from Well Go USA Entertainment. With his patented blend of martial arts action and comedy, Chan plays a railroad worker in 1941 China who leads a team of freedom fighters against the Japanese in order to get food for the poor. The action-packed Railroad Tigers also stars Huang Zitao (Edge of Innocence), Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee Chan (1911), Wang Kai (The Golden Era), Hiroyuki Ikeuchi (Ip Man), Ping Sang (Saving Mr. Wu), Alan Ng (Young Bruce Lee) and Darren Wang (Our Times). Railroad Tigers comes loaded with bonus materials, including five behind-the-scenes featurettes that highlight “The Characters,...

Sparkle Roll Media, the newly launched sales arm of Jackie Chan's global film and TV company, has secured distribution deals in South Korea (Kidarient Corp) and Singapore (Clover Film) for A Better Tomorrow 4, the remake of the John Woo’s classic of the same title.

Directed by Ding Sheng (Railroad Tigers, Saving Mr. Wu, Little Big Soldier), A Better Tomorrow 4 co-stars Wang Kai (Railroad Tigers), Ray Ma (Ice Fantasy) and Talu Wang (Railroad Tigers, Our Times). The film is produced by Beijing Jingxi Culture & Tourism Co.

A Better Tomorrow 4 follows the journey of a former smuggler attempting...

Exclusive: Wang Kai-starring feature sells to South Korea, Singapore.

Jackie Chan’s new international sales outfit, Sparkle Roll Media, has clinched two early pre-sales on Ding Sheng’s A Better Tomorrow 4, selling the film to Kidarient Corp for South Korea and Clover Films for Singapore.

The reboot of John Woo’s iconic heroic bloodshed series stars Wang Kai (Railroad Tigers), Ray Ma (Ice Fantasy) and Talu Wang (Railroad Tigers, Our Times). It traces the journey of a former smuggler attempting to start his life anew and repair his relationship with his estranged brother after his release from prison.

Produced by Beijing Jingxi Culture & Tourism Co, the film is currently in post-production for a year-end release. Sparkle Roll is showing a new promo and artwork here in Cannes.

Sparkle Roll’s Cannes slate also includes documentary Jackie Chan: Down To Earth, which traces five decades of Chan’s career and features filmmakers and stars such as...

After Sylvester Stallone backed out of the fourth and final Expendables sequel back in March, the actor had a big hole in his schedule, which has now been fillled. The actor will be teaming up with international action icon Jackie Chan on a new action-thriller entitled Ex-Baghdad, which is said to be one of the biggest movies ever to come out of China. After Expendables 4 fell apart, Sylvester Stallone looked to this project to take on next, although it hasn't been confirmed when filming will begin.

Deadline reports that Scott Waugh (Need for Speed) has been set to direct, from a script by Arash Amel (Grace of Monaco). The story follows a Chinese private security contractor (Jackie Chan), who is assigned to extract the Chinese workers of an oil refinery in Mosul, Iraq. When the contractor learns that the attackers plan on stealing a fortune's worth of oil, he teams...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Folk Hero & Funny Guy (Jeff Grace)

The bond of male friendship is examined – and tested – in Folk Hero & Funny Guy, a short and sweet dramedy from multi-hyphenate Jeff Grace, who writes and directs. We meet comedian Paul (Alex Karpovsky) at the end of a tired stand-up routine in a beer-stained comedy club. Meanwhile, Paul’s childhood friend Jason (Wyatt Russell) has built a successful career for himself as a folk music star.

The enemy think they’re amateurs. Big mistake.

A slam-bang, all-out action spectacular from the martial arts master Jackie Chan, in an eye-popping suicide mission adventure, packed with mad stunts, stunning set pieces and plenty of belly laughs.

Railroad Tigers is laughs, lunacy and nonstop thrills as soon as it pulls out of the station. Out on Blu-ray, DVD and for download 8th May.

Enter now for your chance to win a copy on Blu-ray!

To win a copy of Railroad Tigers on Blu-ray, just answer the following question:

Which of the following is Not a sequel to Jackie Chan’s Armour of God? Is it:

a) Operation Condor

b) Chinese Zodiac

c) Shanghai Knights

Email your answer to NerdlyComps@gmail.com, making sure to include your name and address. You can also leave your answer on our Facebook page, just make sure to like us first or your entry will be invalid.

The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan, has landed a September 29 release date in China. The news came out of Stx’s CinemaCon presentation Tuesday morning in Las Vegas, where Stx motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson noted that the project is a Chinese co-production. Chan is a beloved star in the Middle Kingdom; his past two films — Kung Fu Yoga and Railroad Tigers — did gangbuster business in the country. The Foreigner is based on the book The Chinaman by Stephen Leather…...

There is a thrilling selection of Chinese-language titles at Filmart this year. Liz Shackleton picks out some of the most promising.

With very few Hong Kong or mainland Chinese sellers making the journey to this year’s European Film Market in Berlin, Filmart offers a chance for buyers to catch up with the Chinese-language titles that will be rolled out in the region for the rest of the year.

After serving up the biggest film of the Chinese New Year holiday — Kung Fu Yoga, starring Jackie Chan and directed by Stanley Tong — China’s Sparkle Roll Media has launched a Hong Kong-based sales arm that is selling Ding Sheng’s reboot of the A Better Tomorrow series.

Other high-profile action titles new to market include Distribution Workshop’s Extraordinary Mission, from the creative teams behind the Infernal Affairs and Overheard series, and Huayi Brothers’ crime drama Explosion, starring Duan Yihong.

Previously announced...

Martin Gropius Bau, one of the sites for the European Film Market

We arrive in a cold, gray, but dry, Berlin Wednesday afternoon, February 8, 2017 for the 67th edition of the Berlinale International Film Festival. As the tribes gather at the Martin Gropius Bau (Mgb), a museum built by the architect father of Walter Gropius, the European Film Market’s international sales agents set up their stands as the Berlinale itself gears up for its Opening Night Gala on Thursday night.

Efm in Mgb

Efm at Martin Gropius Bau

For the next ten days, Mgb will simultaneously host a photography show of Robert Doisneau for the general public and will be largely taken over by the Efm (the European Film Market) which sells some 1,500 to 2,500 films and projects while the festival attracts press coverage and buyers for its 300+ selected titles which will screen in Competition, Out of Competition, in the Panorama,...

Ruth Negga, Lucas Hedges and Auli’i Cravalho are just a few stars who have walked the red carpet at the 2017 Oscars “Loving” actress Ruth Negga “Hacksaw Ridge” actor Luke Bracey “Manchester by the Sea” actor Lucas Hedges “Moana” actress Auli’i Cravalho “Hidden Figures” actor Glen Powell Olivia Culpo “Hidden Figures” star Aldis Hodge “Under the Skin” composer Mica Levi “A Monster Calls” actress Felicity Jones “Elle” actress Isabelle Huppert Viggo Mortensen “Ghostbusters” director Paul Feig Michael Strahan “Railroad Tigers” star Jackie Chan Robin Roberts “Edge of Seventeen” star Hailee Steinfeld “Scandal” star Darby Stanchfield “Hacksaw Ridge” star Teresa Palmer...

Please note: The below list only includes domestic (U.S. and Canada only, unless otherwise indicated) grosses for specialty films — indie, foreign (including Bollywood films that open in limited release) and/or documentary — that opened in limited release (599 screens and under) in 2017 and/or were acquired for 2017 distribution by an independent distributor or a studio (or its speciality division). It also includes films that screened only as an Academy-qualifier in 2016.

Grosses include all reported grosses up to February 14, 2017. This chart is updated every Tuesday afternoon. (Last year’s list can be found here.)

1. “Raees”

Distributor: Zee TV

Release Date: January 25th

Opening Theater Count: 265

Opening Average: $6,768

Current Gross: $3,262,954

2. “Un Padre No Tan Padre”

Distributor: Pantelion

Release Date: January 27th

Opening Theater Count: 312

Opening Average: $3,137

Current Gross: $1,939,925

3. “I Am Not Your Negro”

Distributor: Magnolia

Release Date: February 3rd

Opening Theater Count: 43

Opening Average: $15,962

Current Gross: $1,839,871

4. “The State vs. Jolly Llb 2...

Jackie Chan and Stanley-Tong’s Sixth Film Together

Kung Fu Yoga marks the sixth film that Jackie Chan has made together with director Stanley Tong ( Police Story 3, Rumble in the Bronx, Police Story 4, The Myth and Chinese Zodiac (writing credits) ) .

Kung Fu Yoga is a multi-lingual Chinese-Hindi action adventure comedy, co-produced by Taihe Entertainment (India) and Shinework Pictures (China). It’s the first Indian-Chinese co-produced film with the hope that it sets the trend for future projects together for these two countries.

The film also stars Indian actors Sonu Sood, Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur, as well as Aarif Rahmen aka Aarif Lee ( Bruce Lee, My Brother and L.O.R.D).

Hong Kong star Eric Tsang (Infernal Affairs) also makes a relatively brief but equality important appearance. (Eric Tsang also featured in Jackie Chan’s SkipTrace, Accidental Spy, the Lucky Stars series, and the infamous Armour of God…...

Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong's Kung Fu Yoga opens internationally today. We have a small clip to share with you.   In this clip, set in a massive ice cave, two professors -- Jackie Chan and Disha Patani -- have discovered a long-lost treasure, only to be faced with a nasty fellow, played by Sonu Sood, who will only be happy if he takes their treasure and leaves the professors and their companions dead. If someone would just tell Chan who this guy is in the first place!    Our own Peter Martin caught the film earlier this week and had this to say in his review.   Like Railroad Tigers, his recently-released period movie, Kung Fu Yoga does not represent Chan at the high...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

India’s romance drama “Ok Jaanu” lead the indie newcomers on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, grossing $244,000 from 121 locations in its first weekend at the box office. Directed by Shaad Ali, the film stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles of a young couple living together in Mumbai while trying to pursue their lifelong dreams. Other independent films that opened this weekend include Greece’s “Worlds Apart” and France’s “Reset.” Also Read: Jackie Chan's 'Railroad Tigers' Earns $127,600 at Indie Box Office “Worlds Apart” stars J.K. Simmons, Christoforos Papakaliatis and Andrea Osvart and grossed $14,000 in its first weekend.

The Force does not seem to be with the “Star Wars” franchise in China. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opened to just $30.6 million on the first weekend of its January 6 release, according to Chinese movie analytics firm Artisan Gateway. The film topped Chinese-langauge movies “Some Like It Hot” and “Railroad Tigers” in what was a quiet weekend for the Chinese box office — but lagged well behind the $52.6 million debut for “The Force Awakens” last year. Still, “The Force Awakens” managed to run up a solid but unspectacular $124 million in China, one of the few markets where...

Blame the hardcore East Coast winter. Or that “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” lacks the heft of “The Force Awakens,” or even “The Revenant.” Whatever the reasons, the first full weekend of 2017 saw grosses fall 19 percent from a year ago — and with that, the top spot at the box office may belong to the expansion of “Hidden Figures.”

While initial studio estimates put “Rogue” a small amount ahead, that could change with final figures. And even if it doesn’t, it definitely sold more tickets in more-crowded theaters: “Hidden Figures” has no 3D/IMAX ticket price enhancement, and it’s playing at 1,600 fewer theaters than “Rogue One.”

And while this weekend lacked the strong performers of 2016, it did benefit from the strength of multiple awards contenders that have successfully widened from their initial platform runs. In the thanks-but-no-thanks category: The mediocre domestic debut of “Underworld: Blood Wars,” Screen Gems’ fifth entry in the franchise.

Most box office prognosticators presumed that Disney and LucasFilm's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would have no trouble winning the last few weeks of 2016, along with the first few weeks of 2016. So far, that prediction has come true, with the Star Wars spin-off winning the last three weeks of 2016, and now the first weekend of 2017, but just barely. Rogue One came out on top with $21.9 million, just barely beating Hidden Figures which expanded nationwide to earn $21.8 million. Since these movies are so close together, they may switch places when the actual figures are released tomorrow, but we'll have to want and see.

Box Office Mojo reports that the only new movie opening in wide release, Underworld 5, starring Kate Beckinsale as Selene, opened in 3,070 theaters, which is much higher than the estimated 2,300 theaters it was expected to open in, with Hidden Figures expanding into 2,471 theaters, an increase of 2,446 theaters. Another movie expanding nationwide,...

Jackie Chan’s “Railroad Tigers” bowed into theaters this weekend, grossing $127,600 from just 42 theaters. Well Go USA’s film averaged around $3,038 from each location. “Railroad Tigers” is set in 1941, with Chan starring as railroad worker Ma Yuan, who leads a team of fearless fighters to stop the Japanese war effort. The film stars Huang Zitao (“Edge of Innocence”), Wang Kai (“Nirvana in Fire”) and Darren Wang (“Our Times”). Also Read: Jackie Chan Film 'Railroad Tigers' Picked Up by Well Go USA This weekend also marked the second run for A24’s “20th Century Women,” which took in $142,824 from 10 screens,...

The arthouse world is thriving, with multiple awards contenders amassing the best pre-Oscar nomination numbers in recent memory. (This weekend’s limited openers are also available on VOD.)

Multiple recent releases are scoring well in wider breaks. December platform launches “Hidden Figures,” “La La Land,” and “Manchester By the Sea” are all in the Top Ten, while laggard “A Monster Calls” also expanded, to far lesser results. (Check later analysis of how these films have sprung from initial platforms to wider runs in Top Ten Takeaways).

Several holiday openers have yet to widen. Sony Pictures Classics’ Oscar Foreign Language contender “Toni Erdmann” fell only a bit in its three initial runs, while Ben Affleck’s “Live By Night” (Warner Bros.) is flailing in four theaters in advance of its wide national break this Friday.

International Release:

Railroad Tigers (Well Go USA/China) – $(est.) 110,000 in 42 theaters

Week Two

Twentieth Century Women...

If you could use a good hearty laugh that comes from the gut, watch Well Go USA’s Railroad Tigers starring Jackie Chan. In Railroad Tiger’s Jackie teams up with his son, Jaycee Chan, to form a band of train thieves bent on causing trouble for the Japanese. The duo are joined by the Wang Kai, Darren Wang and Huang Zitao.

They are basically a group of misfits from a small town overrun by Japanese soldiers. Each, passionate for their own reasons, have joined together to give the Japanese as much trouble as possible. When a chance encounter offers them a shot at making a real difference in the fight, they leap at it. The once rebels, now heroes clumsily set out on their mission while racing through a boisterous and authentic set true to its time.

Since the movie is meant to focus on historical events, the stunt...

"I started this mission. I will finish this mission." Well Go USA has revealed a new official Us trailer for the action comedy from China titled Railroad Tigers, about a "ragtag" group of freedom fighters who ambush a military train. Jackie Chan stars, playing a railroad worker who leads a team of skilled fighters trying to take out the Japanese in order to get food for the poor. Also starring Huang Zitao, Wang Kai, Darren Wang, Alan Ng and Sang Ping. The first teaser trailer for this was goofy, and this trailer isn't that much better, but at least the VFX aren't as bad. I really, really wished this looked better than it does, because it would be nice to have another fun Jackie Chan movie, but I'm not sure this is one. In theaters starting today. Here's the new full-length trailer (+ poster) for Ding Sheng's Railroad Tigers, direct...

Railroad Tigers is a special breed of cinematic import so rooted in cultural normalities, it’s as if a wall stands between overseas viewers and total immersion. At heart, Jackie Chan’s latest adventure is a dangerous hicks-vs-military underdog mission – but comedic buffoonery distracts and disengages. Clarinets and oboes (or related instruments?) provide a bubbly soundtrack for a damning suicide mission, never to embrace the seriousness of sacrificial heft. Gunshots ring out as characters joke, while Chan’s cutesy martial artistry evokes a less-enthusiastic Drunken Master who fumbles clashing tonalities. I mean, it’s an immediate red flag when you endure more character-card introductions than Suicide Squad – that’s one runaway train you don’t want to imitate.

Chan stars as Ma Yuan, a humble railroad worker who also moonlights as a member of the Flying Tigers gang. Together, with his clan of misfits, Ma Yuan rebels against Japanese invaders.

Well Go USA is opening Railroad Tigers this weekend, the first of two titles this month from Jackie Chan's production company. The distributor is hoping to capitalize on what it sees as a paucity of action-adventure titles in the marketplace. And with the Golden Globes looming large, the Specialty market takes something of a breather this weekend after a busy late fall season. Gkids will screen Japanese animation title The Princess Mononoke on the film’s 20th anniversary…...

Jackie Chan is back on the silver screen in “Railroad Tigers,” a new action-comedy which honors Jackie’s roots in classic Hong Kong films. “Railroad Tigers” is about a railroad worker, played by Chan, who finds himself in a sticky situation with his group of freedom fighters. Chan and gang plan to ambush and attack a military train because they are seeking provisions only this train has.

They find themselves outnumbered by the heavily armed militants aboard the train and need to find a way out through fighting back against this army with only the few tools they have. This flick is full of action and laughs and is debuting in select theaters on today ; be sure to check it out! Below is more detailed information on screen locations and release information:

Wellgousa Presents: Railroad Tigers

Directed By Ding Sheng

Starring Jackie Chan, Huang Zitao, Wang Kai, Darren Wang

In...

Railroad Tigers is one of those films where, despite its few-versus-many premise, the antagonist often feels like the one with nine lives. That is to say, it is not star Jackie Chan and his small band of freedom fighters who seem like they are surviving by the skin of their teeth, but instead gliding effortlessly through hazardous scenarios. With its 1941 setting in a small Chinese town invaded by the Japanese, this feels like a bit of an anomaly. Yet Chan and company dodge around, knock-out, and dupe their exceptionally silly Japanese oppressors (led by Hiroyuki Ikeuchi of Ip Man villainy) through almost every set-piece and moment of tension, conjuring up images of Buster Keaton or Road Runner. This function makes for some giddily fun scenarios, with wonderful choreography and cartoonish violence, but director and editor Ding Sheng makes the mistake of stuffing his two-plus-hour runtime with unnecessary downtime and bouts of narrative incoherence.

Jackie Chan last found success in Hollywood by mentoring young Jaden Smith in a remake of the surprisingly decent The Karate Kid. That was more than six years ago. Since then, Chan has rarely been seen in North American theaters. Most recently, historical action epic Dragon Blade and buddy comedy Skiptrace both received token releases here; each has its own problems and neither represents Chan at his finest. Railroad Tigers sees Chan reuniting with director Ding Sheng for an action picture that really moves. That's a weak but true statement; for a late-period Chan movie, Railroad Tigers features a series of action sequences that sometimes defy the laws of physics but are mostly fun to watch unfold. Chan and Sheng began their collaboration with Little...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The Chinese film industry’s insistence on proving that it can make blockbusters that are as dull and crummy as anything to come out of Hollywood (but at only half the cost) continues unabated with Railroad Tigers, a hodgepodge of gags and forgettable chase scenes set during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Wearing heavy goggles and a David Gest beard, Jackie Chan stars as Ma Yuan, a railroad porter who leads a small group of train saboteurs in a fight against the Japanese occupation. It doesn’t sound too bad on paper: the onetime class clown of the Hong Kong action school paying homage to one of his biggest influences, the Buster Keaton classic The General, with a train-set wartime comedy of his own. But Chan is now 62 years old, no longer the daredevil who might break a few bones for a stunt. Compared to the humor and excitement of ...

Welcome back to the first Weekend Warrior of 2017, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out (when applicable).

We’ll bypass the past couple holiday weekends cause that was so 2016, and we’ll instead get right into the new movies opening on Friday including two that opened in select cities and are expanding nationwide.

Underworld: Blood Wars (Sony/Screen Gems)

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, Charles Dance, James Faulkner, Peter Andersson, Clementine Nicholson, Bradley James, Daisy Head

Director: Anna Foerster (debut feature from director of TV shows Outlander & Criminal Minds)

Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller

Rated R

Plot: The vampire death dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) finds herself facing both Lycans and vampires, both of them trying to use the blood of her daughter to create new hybrids, so she and David (Theo James...

Long before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hit theaters last month, most box office analysts predicted that it would have no trouble winning the last three weeks in a row of 2016, with its reign possibly stretching into 2017 as well. So far, the analysts have been right, with Rogue One recently overtaking Captain America: Civil War as the second highest grossing movie at the domestic box office ($439.7 million) and seventh highest at the worldwide box office ($789.7 million). Entering its fourth weekend in theaters, it will go up against Sony's Underworld: Blood Wars as the only new movie in wide release, with limited release titles A Monster Calls and Hidden Figures also expanding nationwide. Even with this new competition, we're predicting that Rogue One will still find a way to end up on top of the box office heap this weekend.

Even with this influx of new competition, following a weekend...

Before we get to the new releases to see in January, our highest viewing recommendation would be to catch up on the 50 best films of 2016, many of which are expanding this month, including Paterson, 20th Century Women, Silence, and Toni Erdmann. When it comes to our January preview, we’ve also included a few 2016 films that had one-week qualifying runs, but are now officially opening (and there are also a few to definitely avoid in that category). Check out the feature below and let us know what you are most looking forward to in the comments.

Matinees to See: The Ardennes (1/6), Railroad Tigers (1/6), Sleepless (1/13), Alone in Berlin (1/3), Detour (1/20), The Founder (1/2), and Ice and the Sky (1/20), and Paris 05:59 (1/27).

10. Split (M. Night Shyamalan; Jan. 20)

Synopsis: After three girls are kidnapped by a man with 24 distinct personalities they must find some of the different personalities that can help them while running away...

Jackie Chan back on top, Great Wall nears $150m.

Jackie Chan’s Railroad Tigers roared at the last week of 2016’s Chinese box office (Dec 26 – Jan 1, 2017), taking the top crown with $39.43m for $70.62m after 10 days.

The 1940s action comedy, about a railroad worker who leads a team of freedom fighters against the invading Japanese, opened only in third place two weeks ago, after The Great Wall and See You Tomorrow. Director Ding Sheng has collaborated with Chan previously on Little Big Soldier and Police Story 2013.

Zhang Yimou’s action fantasy epic The Great Wall fell to second spot with $27.96m after topping the charts for two weeks. It crossed the RMB1 billion threshold on New Year Day (Jan 1) and earned $148.02m after 17 days, surpassing Kung Fu Panda 3 as the top grossing Sino-us co-production.

New local romantic comedy Some Like It Hot opened in third place with $24.65m from its three-day opening weekend. Starring Yan Ni...

With no new movies opening in wide release during the final few days of 2016, many were not expecting a huge weekend turnout, or even a close race between the top 10 holdovers. It's fitting that the unpredictable year that was 2016 went out with a bang, as six of the top 10 movies posted increases from last weekend. Although the box office winner was no surprise, as Rogue One took the top spot with an estimated $49.5 million over the three-day weekend, and $64.3 million over the four-day holiday weekend. This tally brings Rogue One up to $439.7 million, just $46.5 million shy of becoming 2016's top-grossing movie, a title currently held by Finding Dory ($486.2 million).

Box Office Mojo reports that Rogue One's three-day gross of $49.5 million represents just a 22.6% drop from last weekend, but when the four-day total of $64.3 million is taken into account, it actually increased 0.5% from its previous frame. Rogue One has currently...