{ "id": "epd7k7r789", "slug": "dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film", "title": "Don't Go Breaking My Heart (单身男女) (2011 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012", "label": "Comedies of 2011 to 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2011", "label": "Released in 2011", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2011" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Don't Go Breaking My Heart (單身男女, Daan san nam neoi) is a 2011 Johnnie To romantic comedy starring Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, and Gao Yuanyuan, a Milkyway Image–Media Asia co-production about a mainland woman in Hong Kong courted by two men; it premiered at the Osaka Asian Film Festival and opened March 31, 2011.", "snippet": "Don't Go Breaking My Heart (單身男女, Daan san nam neoi) is a 2011 Johnnie To romantic comedy starring Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, and Gao Yuanyuan, a Milkyway Image–Media Asia co-production about a mainland woman in Hong Kong courted by two men; it premiered at the Osaka Asian Film Festival and opened March 31, 2011.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2011", "markdown": "# Don't Go Breaking My Heart (单身男女) (2011 film)\n\n**Don't Go Breaking My Heart** (單身男女) is a 2011 Hong Kong romantic comedy directed by [Johnnie To](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnnie-to) (杜琪峰) and written by Wai Ka-Fai (韋家輝), Yau Nai-hoi (游乃海), Chan Wai-bin (陳偉斌), and Au Man-kit (歐文傑), starring [Louis Koo](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-koo) (古天樂), [Daniel Wu](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-wu) (吳彥祖), and Gao Yuanyuan (高圓圓). It follows a mainland Chinese woman working in Hong Kong's financial district who is courted by two very different men, and it was To's first film made specifically for the mainland Chinese market.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html) • [2](https://yule.sohu.com/20110407/n305455873.shtml)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writers | Johnnie To; screenplay by Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-hoi, Chan Wai-bin, and Au Man-kit[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html) |\n| Cast | Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Gao Yuanyuan, Lam Suet[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html) |\n| Technical details | 2011, color, Cantonese, 114 minutes, Category IIA rating[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html) • [3](https://mediaasia.com/Zh-hans/Movies/Info/42/) |\n| Production | Produced by Media Asia (寰亞), made by Milkyway Image (銀河映像)[4](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Don%27t-go-breaking-my-heart/oclc/730147415) |\n| Release | World premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival, March 10, 2011; released March 31, 2011 in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1776143/releaseinfo/) |\n| Hong Kong box office | US$365,308 opening; US$1,584,052 total[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1776143/) |\n| Sequel | *Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2* (單身男女2), released November 13, 2014, with mainland box office of 198,480,000 RMB[7](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and characters\n\nCheng Zixin (程子欣) is an investment analyst who comes to Hong Kong from the mainland for love, only to find that her boyfriend has left her for another woman. She works at a financial firm under pressure from the market, and her one consolation is a man named Zhang Shenran (張申然), played by Louis Koo, who courts her from the window of the office building across the street with paper signs and playful messages.[3](https://mediaasia.com/Zh-hans/Movies/Info/42/) • [4](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Don%27t-go-breaking-my-heart/oclc/730147415)\n\nA second man enters her life: Fang Qihong (方啟宏), played by Daniel Wu, a down-and-out architect whom she meets by chance and encourages to give up drinking and rebuild his career. The film's central device is the contrast between the two suitors. Zhang is a wealthy, charming, womanizing finance executive who becomes her boss; Fang is earnest, straightforward, and devoted, keeping a tree frog as a companion while he recovers.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html) The Hong Kong Film Archive's synopsis describes the setup as a love triangle turned into a two-choose-one survival game: one man is a \"100 percent good man\" with ideals, talent, and kindness but dull company, the other a \"100 percent bad man\" with charm, fun, and money but no fidelity.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html)\n\nThe story spans several years. After an early misunderstanding in which Cheng is stood up, Zhang reappears three years later as her boss and wants to marry her, while Fang, now a renowned architect working in the building opposite her office, resumes his courtship across the glass.[3](https://mediaasia.com/Zh-hans/Movies/Info/42/) Media Asia's synopsis gives the female lead's name as 程芷恩, while mainland sources and the 1905.com database use 程子欣 for the same character.[3](https://mediaasia.com/Zh-hans/Movies/Info/42/) • [8](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/)\n\n### Sequel\n\nA sequel, *Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2* (單身男女2), opened in mainland China on November 13, 2014 and ran to December 24, 2014, earning 198,480,000 RMB, which placed it among the top-grossing Hong Kong films released in the mainland that year.[7](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf)\n\n## Production and the To–Wai partnership\n\nThe film reunited Johnnie To with Wai Ka-Fai, his longtime partner at Milkyway Image, and marked To's return to the romantic comedy genre. To said that comedy was \"a good adjustment process\" for him and that he had been moved by Wai's script when he first read it.[9](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/feature/) It is the third entry in the loose \"men and women\" series that began with *Needing You* (孤男寡女, 2000) and *Love on a Diet* (瘦身男女, 2001), both hits made with the same creative pair.[10](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/guided/)\n\nThe film was conceived for the mainland market. To explained that the decision to shoot mainly on the mainland followed careful market research, and the female lead's background was set as a mainland investment analyst coming to Hong Kong to widen the story's setting.[9](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/feature/) • [2](https://yule.sohu.com/20110407/n305455873.shtml) Because it was a romance rather than a crime film, it passed mainland censorship without a single cut, in contrast to several of To's police and gangster films, which were released in different edited versions in different territories.[11](https://www.infzm.com/contents/56365?source=124&source_1=56367) The story is set against the 2008 global financial crisis, which hit Hong Kong's finance industry, and the screenwriters framed the theme as \"letting love redeem loneliness\" in a city drawing ever more solitary workers from the mainland.[10](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/guided/) • [12](https://news.ifeng.com/c/7fZUeeX3Tc2)\n\n## Release and box office\n\nThe film had its world premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival on March 10, 2011, and opened commercially on March 31, 2011 in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, with Singapore following on April 7.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1776143/releaseinfo/) It served as the opening film of the 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival on March 20, 2011, with the cast appearing on the red carpet while To stayed in Yunnan shooting another picture.[11](https://www.infzm.com/contents/56365?source=124&source_1=56367) • [13](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2011-03-21/14253259211.shtml)\n\nIts Hong Kong commercial run was modest. The first day brought HK$440,000, and by its fifteenth day the cumulative total stood at about HK$9.49 million, reaching about HK$10.48 million after eighteen days.[14](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2011-04-02/03353271612.shtml?from=wap) • [15](https://yule.sohu.com/20110420/n306137811.shtml) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records US$365,308 for the opening and US$1,584,052 in total for Hong Kong.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1776143/) Commentators noted the gap with the same directors' earlier romances, which had earned HK$35.21 million (*Needing You*) and HK$40.44 million (*Love on a Diet*) in Hong Kong.[14](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2011-04-02/03353271612.shtml?from=wap)\n\n## Reception\n\nMainland reception was strong. Sohu [Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment) reported that after the March 31 release the film dominated April's conversation with \"overwhelming\" word of mouth, and that its reputation in the romance genre reached a multi-year high.[2](https://yule.sohu.com/20110407/n305455873.shtml) A preview screening in Shanghai drew an audience of mostly women who shouted support for their preferred suitor, and one viewer quipped that \"nine out of ten women choose Louis Koo, one chooses Daniel Wu.\"[16](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2011/03-11/2899738.shtml) The *Changjiang Daily* praised the screenplay's discipline, noting that an early implausible-looking shot of Koo watching Gao from a car is later paid off so that every detail has a setup.[17](https://ent.sina.cn/review/media/2011-03-16/detail-icczmvun2472023.d.html)\n\nNot all commentary was favorable. After release, some viewers criticized the characters' courtship spending, which included a Maserati worth more than 2 million RMB, a downtown apartment bought at a glance, a Tiffany diamond ring, and a marriage proposal that booked out an 80-story tower; the production company responded that the aim was to show a woman's choice among temptations, not to flaunt wealth.[18](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2011/04-07/2957921.shtml) Critics also read the film as a statement on Hong Kong-mainland relations: the Hong Kong Film Critics Society review saw a collision between a traditional view of love, held by Gao's character, and a postmodern view, held by Koo's, while a Douban review read the two Hong Kong suitors as two orientations of Hong Kong cinema itself.[19](https://www.filmcriticschina.org/?p=2533) • [20](https://movie.douban.com/review/4899397/)\n\nThe film received nominations: [Gao Yuanyuan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gao-yuanyuan) was nominated for Best Actress at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards (2012), the screenplay was nominated at the 12th Chinese Film Media Awards, and the film was nominated for excellent co-production film at the 14th Huabiao Awards.[8](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [單身男女, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-mdatm-fs-film03.html)\n2. [《单身男女》口碑看涨 制胜法宝\"七日谈\", Sohu Entertainment (2011)](https://yule.sohu.com/20110407/n305455873.shtml)\n3. [單身男女, Media Asia](https://mediaasia.com/Zh-hans/Movies/Info/42/)\n4. [單身男女 = Don't go breaking my heart, WorldCat](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Don%27t-go-breaking-my-heart/oclc/730147415)\n5. [Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011) – Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1776143/releaseinfo/)\n6. [Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1776143/)\n7. [香港電影業資料彙編 2014, Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association / CreateHK](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf)\n8. [单身男女Don’t Go Breaking My Heart(2011)_1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/)\n9. [单身男女 幕后花絮, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/feature/)\n10. [单身男女 导赏, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/361052/guided/)\n11. [专访杜琪峰：\"我的电影，我只认一个版本\", 南方周末 (2011)](https://www.infzm.com/contents/56365?source=124&source_1=56367)\n12. [让爱情救赎孤单——韦家辉杜琪峰谈喜剧片《单身男女》, 新华网 via 凤凰网 (2011)](https://news.ifeng.com/c/7fZUeeX3Tc2)\n13. [《单身男女》首映大热香港电影节, 新浪娱乐 (2011)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2011-03-21/14253259211.shtml)\n14. [香港票房(3月31日):《美少女》胜《单身男女》, 新浪娱乐 (2011)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2011-04-02/03353271612.shtml?from=wap)\n15. [香港票房综述：《3D肉蒲团》激情夺冠, 搜狐娱乐 (2011)](https://yule.sohu.com/20110420/n306137811.shtml)\n16. [《单身男女》试映获好评 \"两男追一女\"愈演愈烈, 中国新闻网 (2011)](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2011/03-11/2899738.shtml)\n17. [《单身男女》：嫁古天乐还是吴彦祖, 长江日报 via 新浪 (2011)](https://ent.sina.cn/review/media/2011-03-16/detail-icczmvun2472023.d.html)\n18. [《单身男女》场面被批炫富误导观众 片方否认, 新民晚报 via 中国新闻网 (2011)](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2011/04-07/2957921.shtml)\n19. [《單身男女》, 香港影評人協會, Film Critics China (2011)](https://www.filmcriticschina.org/?p=2533)\n20. [都是套套惹的祸（单身男女）影评, Douban (2011)](https://movie.douban.com/review/4899397/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2011*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Don't Go Breaking My Heart (单身男女) (2011 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Don't Go Breaking My Heart (单身男女) (2011 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Don't Go Breaking My Heart (单身男女) (2011 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dont-go-breaking-my-heart-2011-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Don't Go Breaking My Heart is a 2011 Johnnie To romantic comedy starring Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, and Gao Yuanyuan, a Milkyway Image–Media Asia co-production about a mainland woman in Hong Kong courted by two men; it premiered at the Osaka Asian Film Festival and opened March 31, 2011." }