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| Why Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Soccer Has a 6.6 Douban Rating but a 9.4 Maoyan Score? (Photo: Douban) |
Stephen Chow's latest comedy spectacle, Kung Fu Soccer (功夫女足), has become one of the biggest talking points in Chinese cinemas, but not because everyone agrees it's a masterpiece. While the film has stormed the summer box office with record-breaking earnings, its reception among audiences has painted a far more complicated picture. The biggest debate is not about ticket sales, but about whether the film deserves its surprisingly modest 6.6 rating on Douban, especially when another major platform is showering it with near-universal praise. It is another reminder that blockbuster success and critical approval do not always play on the same team.
The spiritual successor to Shaolin Soccer, released to mark the beloved comedy's 25th anniversary, follows an underdog women's football team that combines martial arts skills with determination to overcome stronger opponents.
The film proudly embraces Stephen Chow's signature absurd humour, exaggerated action and feel-good storytelling, leaning heavily into nostalgia while introducing a fresh cast. For many viewers, it feels like revisiting an old friend. For others, it feels more like that friend who keeps telling the same joke at every family gathering.
Since opening in cinemas on 11 July, Kung Fu Soccer has delivered remarkable commercial results. Industry data shows the film collected around 2.6 billion yuan on its opening day, comfortably outperforming earlier forecasts.
Within two days, total box office revenue had already exceeded 3 billion yuan, while analysts revised projected lifetime earnings from approximately 14.28 billion yuan to nearly 18.65 billion yuan, with some market observers believing it could climb even higher if momentum continues throughout the summer season.
Commercial dominance has been impossible to ignore. The film occupied nearly half of available cinema screenings nationwide and accounted for the vast majority of daily ticket revenue.
Some cinema managers reportedly scheduled screenings every fifteen minutes to meet demand, highlighting just how powerful Stephen Chow's name remains despite limited promotional activity before release.
The real controversy, however, emerged once audience ratings started appearing online. On Douban, where more than 70,000 users have already submitted reviews, Kung Fu Soccer opened with a score of 6.6.
Around 17 per cent of viewers awarded the maximum five-star rating, while 8.6 per cent handed out the lowest possible score. The numbers reveal an audience that is anything but united, with passionate supporters sitting alongside equally determined critics.
The contrast becomes even more striking when compared with Maoyan, China's leading cinema ticketing platform. There, the film enjoys a far stronger 9.4 rating based on approximately 184,000 reviews, with overwhelmingly positive audience feedback.
That enormous gap between two major platforms has quickly become almost as entertaining as the film itself. Apparently, choosing where to read reviews now feels like selecting between two completely different movies.
Industry observers suggest the difference reflects two very different groups of viewers rather than any technical issue with the ratings themselves. Douban users traditionally place greater emphasis on screenplay quality, originality, storytelling structure and artistic ambition.
Meanwhile, cinema-goers leaving ratings on Maoyan often judge films based on whether they had an enjoyable experience at the theatre. One audience asks whether the script pushed creative boundaries. The other asks whether they laughed, smiled and felt their ticket money was well spent. Both questions are perfectly reasonable, although they rarely produce identical answers.
Compared with Stephen Chow's earlier classics, the new score lands somewhere in the middle of his directing career. It falls below the highly regarded Kung Fu and Shaolin Soccer, yet performs better than The New King of Comedy, while sitting close to The Mermaid.
That positioning has fuelled fresh debate over whether the filmmaker is evolving his trademark style or simply revisiting familiar territory with a new cast and a different sport.
Supporters argue the film succeeds precisely because it never hides what it wants to be. They praise its energetic comedy, uplifting underdog narrative and colourful visual imagination, saying it captures the unmistakable flavour of classic Stephen Chow productions.
Many viewers also welcomed its focus on women's football, appreciating the team's perseverance and determination as the emotional centre of the story. For them, the film delivers exactly what audiences expect from one of Hong Kong cinema's most recognisable filmmakers: laughter, optimism and wonderfully ridiculous action.
Critics, however, believe the film relies too heavily on nostalgia. Some describe it as a gender-swapped variation of Shaolin Soccer, arguing that the plot follows predictable beats without offering enough fresh ideas. Others feel several comedic moments recycle familiar jokes rather than introducing new ones, while some questioned the consistency of the visual effects.
A number of reviews also suggested that certain performances tried a little too hard to imitate Stephen Chow's distinctive comedic rhythm instead of developing their own style. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but audiences can usually tell when someone is borrowing another person's punchlines.
The discussion has spread well beyond review platforms. Across Chinese social media, reactions have varied widely. Many long-time fans, particularly those who grew up watching Stephen Chow's golden-era films, celebrated the return of his trademark humour and encouraged others to experience the film without overthinking every scene.
Meanwhile, more analytical viewers on Douban dissected the screenplay, pacing and character development in detail, producing lengthy debates that sometimes became almost as dramatic as the football matches on screen.
Short-video platforms added another layer by turning memorable moments into jokes, memes and playful criticism, keeping the conversation lively regardless of whether opinions leaned positive or negative.
Some of the loudest debates have centred on expectations rather than the film itself. Because Kung Fu Soccer arrived with relatively little advance marketing, many viewers entered cinemas expecting another modern masterpiece on the level of Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu.
When the film instead delivered a familiar blend of slapstick comedy and inspirational sports drama, expectations inevitably collided with reality. Nostalgia remains one of cinema's strongest selling points, but it can also become its toughest opponent.
Questions surrounding the portrayal of the women's football team have also generated discussion. While many praised the characters' determination and resilience, others argued certain portrayals leaned too heavily on familiar comedy stereotypes.
That conversation has become another example of how audiences increasingly evaluate mainstream entertainment from multiple perspectives rather than focusing solely on laughs or spectacle.
Next: Where Was Kung Fu Soccer Filmed?
Despite the divided opinions, one fact remains difficult to dispute: Kung Fu Soccer has already become one of the defining cinema stories of the summer. Whether viewers see it as a triumphant return for Stephen Chow or an enjoyable comedy that falls short of his greatest achievements, the film has successfully captured public attention, packed cinemas and reignited conversations about one of Asian cinema's most influential filmmakers.
The scoreboard may still be changing, but the debate is clearly nowhere near full-time. Have you watched Kung Fu Soccer yet? Does the 6.6 Douban rating feel fair, or do you think the audience has been far too harsh?