Twilight of the Warriors remains the most watched HK film

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With 1.6 million viewers TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN remains the most watched Hong Kong film in cinemas in Hong Kong. The previous record of 1.53 million viewers was set by court drama A GUILTY CONSCIENCE last year, also the highest-grossing film with a box office of HK$115 million.

If you have not see the film yet, the plot is as follows: many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong's underworld, the notorious Kowloon Walled City serves as a fortified, lawless safe haven for gangs and refugees alike, but when a skilled underground fighter runs afoul of the most feared Triad boss in Hong Kong, a bounty is placed on his head despite his connections to the leader of the infamous enclave. As his pursuers violate the tenuous territorial truce to exact their vengeance, the fallout reignites old grudges, bringing decades of building tension to a brutal, bloody boiling point.

The project had been in development since the 2000s, where it was set to be co-directed by John Woo and Johnnie To and star an all-star cast of Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Sean Lau, Louis Koo, Anthony Wong, Sun Honglei, Anita Yuen and Zhang Jingchu, with Nicolas Cage, James McAvoy, Li Baotian, Jang Dong-gun, Li Bingbing and Zhang Fengyi making special appearances, as shown on a teaser poster, although nothing was confirmed. On 13 April 2013, Media Asia announced the project was to be titled DRAGON CITY and set to be directed by Derek Kwok and starring Donnie Yen, who would also serve as action director and producer through his production company, Super Hero Films, and was set to begin production in September of that year.

After seemingly stuck in development chaos for several years, Media Asia once again announced the project on 28 February 2021, with Soi Cheang set to direct while Koo, Richie Jen and Zhang Jin are set to star. Principal photography for the film officially began on 22 November 2021, although the cast was not revealed yet until the film held its production commencement ceremony on 30 November, which was attended by Cheang, producers John Chong and Wilson Yip and cast members Koo, Sammo Hung, Jen, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Kenny Wong, Tony Wu, German Cheung, Philip Ng, Chu Pak Hong and Chung Suet Ying. Koo revealed that two replica sets of the Kowloon Walled City were built for filming, while actual magazines, record albums, televisions and commercials from the 1980s will be used as props. All the main cast spent a year training to prepare for the film's fight scenes. On 3 April 2022, filming was officially wrapped and the film went into the post-production process.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is directed by Soi Cheang, and produced by John Chong and Wilson Yip, with stunts and action choreographed by Tanigaki Kenji. The action film stars Louis Koo, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, Tony Wu Tsz Tung, German Cheung, Richie Jen, Wong Tak Pun Kenny, Fish Liew, Chu Pak Hong, Cecilia Choi, Lau Wai Ming, Aaron Kwok, and Sammo Hung.

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