Taiwanese stars shine in China with box office hits

Taiwanese screen stars such as Shu Qi, Lin Chi-ling, Gwei Lun-mei, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Eddie Peng and Chang Chen have garnered much attention from the Chinese audience in recent years and established themselves as guaranteed box office success in China.

Chinese film If You Are the One, directed by renowned Director Feng Xiaogang and which featured multi-award winning actress Shu Qi, was very well received in China. The second installment of the movie clinched the title of “fifth biggest hit in the country’s box office history” as soon as it premiered. The total box office sales of the two movies is estimated to be worth NT$3.76 billion (S$160 million).

Taiwanese supermodel-turned-actress Lin Chi-ling is now a much sought-after figure in the film industry after her maiden movie appearance in the Red Cliff series. The 38-year-old has two upcoming films 101st marriage proposal and Switch, both slated to be released in China next year.

Gwei Lun-mei, the freshly crowned Best Actress at the 49th Taipei Golden Horse Awards, was also nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award at the People's Hundred Flower Award which is one of the most prestigious film award ceremonies in China, for her role in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.

As for the men, Japanese-Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro remains a crowd-drawer while Chang Chen’s performance in The Last Supper was widely praised after the film screened in China.

While these brooding lead actors top the list with their screen appeal, Eddie Peng steals the limelight from his showbiz seniors and is ranked numero uno with his multiple box office successes this year. The actor, who is gradually focusing his acting career in movies starred in Taichi 0 and Taichi II which grossed approximately NT$1.24 billion (S$52.45 million) in total.

Furthermore, the 30-year-old also participated in Taiwanese and Hong Kong productions, Love and Cold War respectively, and the total box office sales for his four films exceeded NT$3 billion (S$126 million).

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