Andy Lau raked in S$350 million at the box office last year

Hong Kong — Andy Lau rules the box office in an industry that favours youth. Turning 60 this year, the veteran Heavenly King shows no sign of slowing down or ceding his throne to a younger showbiz upstart. In the past year, Lau starred in three movies, all of them instant hits raking in a total of NT$7.4 billion (S$350 million). That amount does not include the currently airing Detective Chinatown 3, in which Lau guest-starred and for which he sang the theme song.

According to 8days.sg, the internet was abuzz last week when news broke that Lau and his Infernal Affairs co-star Tony Leung will be reunited onscreen in the upcoming NT$1.3 billion (S$61.9 million) police-themed movie whose title is literally translated as Gold Finger (the phrase is Cantonese slang for ‘whistleblower’). It sounds unbelievable but it has been 18 years since the two stars appeared together in a film.

As fans celebrate Lau’s success, a handful of Hong Kong media outlets could not help but wonder if the Hong Kong showbiz industry is capable of serving up a successor who might match up to Lau’s star power.

Lately, the Hong Kong film industry has received substantial investments from Chinese companies which generally ask for big names like Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Chow Yun Fat, Louis Koo, Sean Lau and Richie Ren to act in these films. These actors are all in their 50s. When it comes to younger Hong Kong actors, names like Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue who are now in their 40s, come to mind.

Not many stars are left to usher in the next generation of Hong Kong movies, according to Hong Kong media. Hong Kong actor Terrance Lau seems promising at 32. The actor was nominated for a grand total of six awards at various award ceremonies, including the prestigious Golden Horse Awards for his performance in the 2019 rom-com flick, Beyond The Dream. Even though he was widely touted as “someone to watch out for”, Hong Kong media aren’t too optimistic about his success on a global front.

“His works are all barely hits in Taiwan, let alone China,” one media outlet writes. “Is it even possible that the big productions would look for him?”

That sounds like a harsh way of saying it. /TISG