Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

The roadshow has generated widespread public enthusiasm, and the competition for the best time to release the show is now completely settled and there is no suspense left.

Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, "The Swordsman" permanently surpassed and firmly held the top spot in daily box office revenue;

From the fourth day of the Lunar New Year to the finale, it maintained a commanding lead throughout, consistently ranking first in all categories, with an unshakeable dominance.

The final figures for the 2026 Lunar New Year film season have been released.

"The Swordsman" grossed 33.8 billion yuan, crushing "Pegasus 3" which grossed 29.27 billion yuan, and won the box office champion of the 2026 Spring Festival!

It broke the record for the highest box office of domestic martial arts films during the Spring Festival in nearly ten years, ended the long-term slump of the martial arts genre, and created a peak legend of realistic martial arts films after ten years.

[The Legend of the Swordsman tops the Spring Festival box office with a record-breaking 33.8 billion yuan]

Gu Zhiyan enjoys overwhelming popularity in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Gu Zhiyan's offline roadshow drew massive crowds.

[Single-handedly revitalizing the domestic martial arts film industry]

[The strongest audience prediction for the 2026 Spring Festival film season]

Dozens of trending topics continued to dominate the charts, and the whole nation witnessed this top-level comeback, where the weak triumphed over the strong and the strong triumphed over quantity.

Major official film and television media outlets, veteran film critics, and industry organizations collectively reviewed the 2026 Spring Festival film season, giving a highly unified final assessment.

Maoyan Movies official statement: "The biggest miracle of the 2026 Spring Festival season is not the film's comeback, but the ultimate example of individual box office dominance."

"Pegasus 3" won over audiences in terms of screenings, pre-sales, and initial buzz, while Gu Zhiyan and "The Swordsman" won over audiences, the market, the throne, and the era's dividends.

True national actors don't need the support of internet celebrities; the spontaneous support of millions of viewers is their strongest asset.

In-depth review from Film and Television Headlines: "Gu Zhiyan perfectly fills the gap left by the lack of an 'all-around national actor' in the Chinese entertainment industry for many years."

He can win the highest awards in literature and art, manage top-tier commercial projects, command respect among professional film critics, and thoroughly understand the general public across the country.

His box office appeal is free of hype, hype, and barriers; it is a top-tier, dominant force certified by the market and endorsed by the public.

The comeback of "The Swordsman" is a victory for the work itself, but even more so, an absolute victory for the actors' individual talent.

A veteran film critic in the industry said, "Among this year's Spring Festival film season, only 'The Swordsman' achieved a five-dimensional dominance in terms of box office, word-of-mouth, offline popularity, casual audience, and long-tail popularity."

All the hype and marketing will eventually come to an end, but only audience trust, the quality of the work, and the individual's popularity will remain forever invincible.

Gu Zhiyan has redefined the highest standard of box office appeal in the Chinese entertainment industry.

……

Even after the Spring Festival film season officially ended, the legend of "The Swordsman" continues.

While all other films released at the same time have seen their popularity decline, their screenings decrease sharply, and they are gradually being withdrawn from the market, this film has demonstrated an astonishingly long lifespan thanks to its exceptional word-of-mouth, maintaining a stable daily box office of tens of millions even after a full month of release.

In response to strong demand from cinemas nationwide and a massive audience, the official announcement was made that the key would be extended for the second time, and the theatrical release would be extended to the end of April. This makes it the only major Spring Festival film in 2026 to achieve a double key extension, completely breaking the industry rule that Spring Festival films are "withdrawn from the market after the Lantern Festival". It will be showing from the depths of winter to the beginning of spring, maintaining its popularity throughout the entire season.

While achieving long-term critical acclaim in mainland China, "The Swordsman" officially launched its global overseas release, landing in mainstream theaters in Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. With its authentic Chinese realistic martial arts style, it ventured into the international film scene, and the overseas market showed a clear and highly valuable differentiation pattern for the industry.

Southeast Asia, as the film's core overseas box office market, was a resounding success.

Relying on the deep-rooted audience base of martial arts culture, the massive fan base accumulated over the long term by the original comic of "The Swordsman", and Gu Zhiyan's top national influence in Southeast Asia after years of cultivation, the film has sparked a nationwide movie-watching craze.

As the largest overseas market, the film topped the local box office on its opening day, winning the 2026 Lunar New Year box office championship and remaining the number one Chinese-language film for several consecutive weeks.

The Singapore market continues its steady growth, consistently ranking among the top Chinese-language films released on weekends.

The number of moviegoers in Indonesia during its first week of screenings broke the record for the highest number of Chinese-language films in recent years.

The film was later released in Thailand, where it cultivated a strong Chinese community, generating positive word-of-mouth and steadily increasing popularity. The entire Southeast Asian market was ignited by the Chinese martial arts film.

Although the European and American markets are limited by cultural barriers and the box office tends to be niche, relying mainly on overseas Chinese communities and kung fu movie fans around the world, it has garnered phenomenal word-of-mouth and achieved legendary status from both professional and popular audiences.

The film has consistently received high ratings from authoritative overseas film critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%–93% and an audience score of 97%–98%, achieving a rare level of mutual recognition within the industry. Its IMDb score remains stable at 7.4, firmly placing it among the top-tier Chinese martial arts films exported overseas over the past decade.

Top global film and television media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter and Variety have published key feature reports, unanimously defining the film as authentic Wuxia, praising its realistic and hardcore action design, its desolate and magnificent desert aesthetics, and acknowledging its original intention to abandon Hollywood clichés and adhere to the core of Chinese chivalry.

Overseas audiences gave highly unanimous reviews, praising the film's sharp and clean fight scenes, the characters' overwhelming sense of power, and the Eastern chivalrous spirit of the镖人 (bodyguards/martial arts masters) upholding morality and protecting the weak, which resonated perfectly with the classic Western chivalric spirit, thus breaking down the emotional barriers between countries.

This successful global release has solidified "The Swordsman" as a benchmark case for Chinese martial arts films going global over the past decade.

Real data has proven that realistic adult martial arts films have a strong and sustainable overseas appeal. They do not need to deliberately cater to Western aesthetics. By adhering to the core Chinese elements and the quality of realistic filming, they can still conquer audiences worldwide.

Meanwhile, the differentiated distribution performance of the films in different regions has provided a replicable and practical industry model for the subsequent overseas expansion of Chinese martial arts films.

With the film achieving both critical and commercial success both domestically and internationally, the Chinese film industry in 2026 will usher in a completely new landscape characterized by restructuring, resource reshuffling, and aesthetic resetting.

The industry's long-held prejudices that "martial arts are outdated, kung fu doesn't make money, and there are no new generation martial arts actors" have been completely overturned. Film and television capital and major production companies have urgently adjusted their project layouts. Floating fantasy, filtered ancient costume dramas, and fast-food special effects blockbusters have all cooled down. Realistic martial arts, hardcore action, and historical martial arts themes have become the new trend in the industry.

Major film and television companies have been extending invitations to Gu Zhiyan for top-tier martial arts scripts and Sino-foreign co-production projects.

There is a consensus in the industry that Gu Zhiyan is currently the only all-around actor in the Chinese entertainment industry who possesses high awards, commercial box office dominance, a broad audience across all ages, international influence, and real-life martial arts skills.

From winning the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor in a dramatic role to breaking new ground in martial arts films and pioneering a new genre; from turning the tide in the mainland's Spring Festival film season to spreading Eastern chivalry across the sea; from rewriting the competitive landscape of film releases to driving a shift in the aesthetics of the entire film and television industry.

Gu Zhiyan revived the long-dormant domestic martial arts genre with a single work, setting a new standard for Chinese films going global.

However, Gu Zhiyan doesn't have time to take on any more martial arts films right now; he's going to join the cast of "The Wandering Earth 3".

Moreover, this is just a temporary surge in popularity; the hype and excitement will eventually fade away.

…………

As the Spring Festival of 2026 came to a close, the legendary status quo created by "The Swordsman" continues to unfold.

With a box office of 33.8 billion yuan during the Spring Festival, it swept the Spring Festival screens with two extended releases, topped the box office in Southeast Asia, and received rave reviews from professionals in Europe and America. It single-handedly revitalized the domestic martial arts film industry, which had been dormant for a decade, and promoted a reshuffling of the entire film and television industry and a reset of aesthetics.

At this moment, Gu Zhiyan has achieved a perfect record in box office, word-of-mouth, national popularity, and international influence, and stands firmly at the top of the Chinese entertainment pyramid.

The entire internet is eagerly awaiting his return to top-tier martial arts sequels, hoping he can recreate his own golden age of martial arts.

Amidst the widespread speculation online, Gu Zhiyan quietly joined the cast of "The Wandering Earth 3".

Filming for "The Wandering Earth 3" has been underway for some time now, but Gu Zhiyan has postponed joining the cast due to his busy schedule.

The Wandering Earth 3 adopts a dual narrative mode of sequel to the main story plus prequel to the characters.

The middle-aged Liu Peiqiang uses digital life remnants and fragments of memories to weave together the entire piece.

Young Liu Peiqiang carries the prequel storyline of the entire film, fully filling in the unknown gaps in the public's life.

The film focuses on Liu Peiqiang, who is between twenty and thirty years old, during the late braking era and early escape era.

It tells the epic story of his growth from an ordinary aerospace student, through trials of adversity, life-or-death choices, and brutal selection, to becoming a top astronaut and space commander, shouldering the mission of human survival, bidding farewell to his homeland and loved ones, and finally heading to the stars.

This brand-new main storyline perfectly connects the past and present of the entire Wandering Earth universe, filling the plot gaps that have plagued the series for many years.

If the world of "The Swordsman" is a world of chivalry where people protect their land and its inhabitants with righteousness, then it is a world of chivalry where people protect their country with their lives and safeguard the common people with righteousness.

The starry sea that young Liu Peiqiang sought was a testament to his patriotism and dedication to protecting humanity.

The two characters, one ancient and one modern, one martial and one ethereal, one from the martial world and the other from the universe, share an extremely similar core: forbearance, courage, selflessness, willingness to die, and upholding justice and bringing peace to the people.

Gu Zhiyan's performance perfectly embodies the spirit of Chinese culture across dimensions.

The young Liu Peiqiang is a well-developed and compelling character. He is rebellious in his youth but sincere in his heart, and exceptionally talented but never arrogant.

Living in a chaotic post-apocalyptic world, witnessing the division of humanity, the cruelty of disasters, and the devastation of civilization, he went from a naive and reckless astronaut to a seasoned commander who shed his naivety and matured into a composed and resolute leader who shoulders heavy responsibilities.

He possesses the tenderness and affection of a young man, the guilt and longing for his lover, the unyielding spirit of a soldier, and the resolute determination to risk everything for human civilization.

Joining the cast of "The Wandering Earth 3" brought all the New Year's hype and the online frenzy to a standstill for Gu Zhiyan.

The Wandering Earth 3 was filmed in two parts back-to-back, with the original cast all returning, including Andy Lau, Li Xuejian, and Nazha, among other key members of the creative team.

As the leading male character of the new generation in the film, Gu Zhiyan shares the stage with a veteran actor, engaging in dramatic exchanges and showcasing a composed demeanor, relaxed acting skills, and progressively unfolding emotions, fully supporting the weighty scope of this epic sci-fi blockbuster.

Dressed in a spacesuit, with sharp eyes and an upright posture, he perfectly replicated the ultimate image of the first generation of astronauts who bravely went to the stars and protected the world.

From a lone swordsman in the desert, protecting the people with his sword, to Liu Peiqiang, who braves the vast starry sky and defends the country with his life; from winning the Golden Rooster Award for his literary dramas and achieving box office success for his martial arts dramas, to the ultimate epic of Chinese science fiction.

Gu Zhiyan completely breaks down the barriers of subject matter, the limitations of the genre, and the boundaries of actors, proving that a truly top-tier actor is never limited to a single role.

……

In early spring, the sea breeze in Qingdao is biting. The Oriental Movie Metropolis studios are closed off from the light all year round, blurring the line between day and night.

The filming of "The Wandering Earth 3" was done in quick succession, like a precisely operating machine. There were no grand red carpets with flowers and cheers, only rigorous, tedious, and high-intensity industrial filming day after day.

At 6:30 a.m., before most staff members had arrived at their posts, Gu Zhiyan and Nazha had already appeared in the physical training area.

Gu Zhiyan certainly didn't need it; he came with Na Zha.

Not only Naza, but almost all the actors in the entire crew were already here at this time, doing their daily morning training.

Core strength training, weightlessness exercises in a simulated cabin, and endurance training while wearing weighted gear, with aerospace advisors correcting their posture, salute gestures, and in-cabin movement.

Everyone took this movie very seriously, especially Shen Teng, who joined the cast and put in even more effort than the other actors.

Filming officially begins at 8:00 AM, with the dressing room becoming the first stop each day.

The sci-fi makeup process is complicated, including scar effects, UV burn makeup, and shaping of the spacesuit lining. The entire look takes nearly two hours.

The heavy spacesuit weighs 30 to 40 kilograms. The inner layer is stuffy and not breathable. The spacesuit sometimes needs to simulate an extremely cold environment, with the air conditioning running continuously. The alternation between hot and cold is extremely agonizing.

Many actors need to take off their costumes to breathe and rest after filming one or two takes, but Gu Zhiyan often wears the entire spacesuit for five or six hours at a time, and will not ask for a break unless the director tells them to stop.

The filming was divided into live-action studio scenes, virtual filming, and green screen space scenes.

The most challenging part was the green screen outer space scenes. The entire background was lush green, with no real-world references, so all the stars, Earth, and deep space crises had to be created by the actors through their imaginations.

During the filming of the critical space repair scene, wire stunts simulated weightlessness, with the body suspended in mid-air and the posture controlled by ropes. A three-minute scene often required more than a dozen takes.

Everyone was suspended in mid-air, their masks fogged up, and their arms were constantly in a tense position, so that their arms were covered with marks after landing.

In the afternoon, long, continuous shooting sessions often begin. When encountering large-scale scenes such as engine failure or desert selection, dozens of extras work together to coordinate and shoot for several hours at a time.

If any deviation occurs in the details of the action or dialogue, Guo Fan will stop the filming on the spot and make meticulous adjustments. Gu Zhiyan is used to taking the initiative to review the filming process. After each take is finished, she goes to the monitor to watch the playback, actively looking for flaws in her performance and communicating with the director to adjust the direction.

As night fell, the studio lights remained on, and many night scenes focused on Liu Peiqiang's inner monologues and heartwarming farewells to his family.

These types of scenes don't involve intense action, but they severely test one's emotional control.

This wasn't difficult for Gu Zhiyan. He rarely vented his emotions, keeping all the heaviness, reluctance, and tragic grandeur of facing death hidden in his eyes, often getting it right in one take.

Even so, Gu Zhiyan still took the initiative to suggest trying several different emotional levels, giving the director more editing options.

Filming night scenes often ends close to 11 p.m.

Filming "The Wandering Earth 3" was quite arduous.