Cinema explains ticket mix-up showing Shen Teng's film for Stephen Chow's movie

A peculiar incident at a Chinese cinema has brought attention to the intense box office competition between two comedy giants, Stephen Chow and Shen Teng. A movie ticket for Chow's directorial effort, "Kung Fu Soccer," was printed with the title of Shen Teng's latest film, "Hello, Mr. Billionaire," sparking questions about potential box office manipulation.

The controversy arose when a fan shared a screenshot of the ticket, showing "Hello, Mr. Billionaire" printed on it, despite the patron attending a screening of "Kung Fu Soccer." This led to accusations that "Hello, Mr. Billionaire" might be unfairly claiming box office revenue from Chow's film.

Cinema management clarified that the error occurred due to a ticketing system malfunction. According to the explanation, a patron arrived 20 minutes after the "Kung Fu Soccer" screening had begun and insisted on purchasing a ticket for that specific show. The system, unable to issue a ticket for a show already in progress, mistakenly printed the title of Shen Teng's film. Staff manually corrected the ticket to "Kung Fu Soccer," and the "Hello, Mr. Billionaire" ticket was voided and its corresponding box office count adjusted.

Despite the explanation, the incident underscores the significant box office rivalry between Stephen Chow and Shen Teng, both highly popular figures in China's comedy film scene. "Kung Fu Soccer" has performed well during the summer season, while Shen Teng's "Hello, Mr. Billionaire," described as a thought-provoking anti-war film disguised as a comedy, has also garnered considerable attention and revenue.

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The explanation stated that the audience arrived 20 minutes after the "Kung Fu Soccer" screening began and insisted on buying a ticket for that show, leading to a system setting that could not issue a ticket.