The fourth installment of the wildly successful Ip Man franchise, The
Finale has broken box office records for an Asian film in China, Taiwan
and Singapore. But in Hong Kong, the pic has grossed $660,000 since
bowing Friday, finishing in second place behind Star Wars: The Rise of
Skywalker.
The boycott was organized by users of the Reddit-like LIHKG forum, one
of the strategizing hubs of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement that
began in June and has seen the city-state roiled by protests, running
street battles and heavy-handed police action. Not only are protestors
snubbing the movie, they are also actively discouraging others to see it
by spoiling the storyline of the film on Twitter, Facebook and
Instagram in the “Ip Man Challenge.” Handy placards with major plot
points in English or Chinese are being distributed alongside the hashtag
"#boycottIpMan4."
Those boycotting the pic have cited the political leanings of Ip Man 4’s
producer and actors as basis for their action. Wong has made his
pro-China stance known especially in recent years, having organized a
fund for an anti-Occupy Central organization in 2014 and vocally
criticized the democratically voted best film win of the politically
controversial Ten Years at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015, calling
the movie’s triumph at the ceremony “a huge mistake” and “a joke”
despite it being the consensus of film industry members.
Yen, who played the eponymous character in the film series, shared the
stage and sang with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a gala commemorating
the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover in 2017 and issued a
statement early this year reasserting “the determination of the
motherland” after his fans in China was outraged by his attendance of an
event hosted by German clothing brand Philipp Plein, which was
allegedly involved in an incident deemed “insulting” to China a dozen
years ago. Meanwhile, Chan, who plays Bruce Lee in the latest movie, has
been outspokenly supportive of the Hong Kong police, posting on social
media that police should not “go easy on any [protesters]” nor “let
anyone of them go.”
The boycott was launched as a part of the grassroots “yellow economic
circle” initiative that has started to gain traction in recent months,
meant to endorse restaurants, shops and brands that support the movement
and discourage spending at “blue” or pro-China establishments. Maps and
guides of “yellow restaurants/shops” have been put together to
encourage patronage of protest-minded Hong Kong citizens.
As one of the high-profile Hong Kong film releases this year, the China
co-production Ip Man 4 was seen as a “blue” product and as epitomizing
the China-leaning nature of Hong Kong-Chinese collaborations that cater
to Chinese audience’s taste at the expense of the Hong Kong audience.
Veteran producer Wong inaugurated the Ip Man film franchise in 2008,
making Yen a star and paving the way for his involvement in Hollywood
productions, including Star Wars spinoff Rogue One and the upcoming
Disney live-action remake of Mulan, which is itself the subject of a
boycott after lead Crystal Liu voiced support for the Hong Kong police.
The first Ip Man pic won best film and action choreography honors at the
2009 Hong Kong Film Awards. Known for its action sequences and Chinese
nationalistic themes, where Ip Man always triumphs over foreign
aggressors, the first three installments in the franchise have grossed
over $228 million in total worldwide.
