{ "id": "epvhhraejn", "slug": "the-movie-emperor", "title": "The Movie Emperor", "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.black-comedy-and-satire-films", "label": "Black comedy and satire films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.black-comedy-and-satire-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.black-comedy-and-satire-films.yr-1998-2024", "label": "Released 1998 to 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.black-comedy-and-satire-films.yr-1998-2024" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "China · 2021 and later: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021", "label": "China · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2021.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.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Movie Emperor (红毯先生, formerly Red Carpet) is a 2024 Chinese comedy-drama by Ning Hao starring Andy Lau as a Hong Kong star chasing an award by playing a farmer; premiered at TIFF 2023, released in China February 10, 2024.", "snippet": "The Movie Emperor (红毯先生, formerly Red Carpet) is a 2024 Chinese comedy-drama by Ning Hao starring Andy Lau as a Hong Kong star chasing an award by playing a farmer; premiered at TIFF 2023, released in China February 10, 2024.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.black-comedy-and-satire-films.yr-1998-2024", "markdown": "# The Movie Emperor\n\n**The Movie Emperor** (红毯先生; formerly titled *Red Carpet*, 全民明星) is a 2024 Chinese comedy-drama directed by Ning Hao and starring [Andy Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-lau) as Lau Wai-chi, a veteran Hong Kong movie star who takes an against-type role as a farmer in a low-budget indie drama in pursuit of a long-elusive acting award[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-movie-emperor/) • [2](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0426/2024042603567.pdf). The film premiered at the 2023 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) and closed the 28th Busan International Film Festival before its Chinese theatrical release on February 10, 2024[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28488862/releaseinfo/).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 红毯先生 (Hong tan xian sheng); formerly *Red Carpet* (全民明星)[2](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0426/2024042603567.pdf) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28488862/releaseinfo/) |\n| Director / star | Ning Hao, with Andy Lau as Lau Wai-chi; Ning also appears as the director character Lin Hao[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-movie-emperor/) • [5](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237786/busan-2023-movie-emperor-review-andy-lau-sends-himself-chinese-celebrity-culture-parody-directed) |\n| Screenwriters | Liu Xiaodan, Wang Ang, and Daniel Yu[6](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/movie-emperor) |\n| Genre / language | Comedy-drama in Mandarin (Cantonese also listed for some releases)[6](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/movie-emperor) • [7](https://cmgo.com/web/en-US/m/movie/cmgo346_The-Movie-Emperor?rating=18®ion=MY) |\n| Runtime | 125 minutes in most listings; the Hong Kong release ran 128 minutes and the Australian classification lists 127[8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Movie-Emperor-The-%282023-China%29) • [9](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/Hong%20Kong%20Film%20Industry%20Data%202024_EN.pdf) |\n| Festival premieres | Toronto International Film Festival Gala Presentations, September 14, 2023; closing film of the 28th Busan International Film Festival, October 13, 2023[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28488862/releaseinfo/) |\n| Theatrical release | China February 10, 2024; Hong Kong February 29, 2024[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28488862/releaseinfo/) |\n| Worldwide box office | $13,100,097, of which $13,041,286 came from China[8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Movie-Emperor-The-%282023-China%29) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nLau Wai-chi has worked in the film industry for forty years and remains famous, but he keeps missing out on the Hong Kong Film Awards. Making short tribute videos to his past characters feels desperate, so he decides he needs to make a film again. He contacts the Chinese director Lin Hao, played by Ning Hao himself, to star in a film shot in the countryside as an ordinary farmer, something he has never done[10](https://cmc-pictures.com/the-movie-emperor/).\n\nThe role requires him to learn from villagers how they really live and speak, but he is so used to star treatment that he cannot connect with people of lower social status, and the villagers and crew see through his arrogance and vanity[10](https://cmc-pictures.com/the-movie-emperor/). To research the part he goes deep into the countryside, personally solicits investment, and refuses a stunt double, which triggers a series of escalating misadventures[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-movie-emperor/). A careless horse stunt sets off a social-media firestorm, and the out-of-touch celebrity is canceled over the course of several misadventures[11](https://www.kai-fong.com/movies/the-movie-emperor) • [5](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237786/busan-2023-movie-emperor-review-andy-lau-sends-himself-chinese-celebrity-culture-parody-directed).\n\n## Production\n\n**A reunion seventeen years in the making.** The film marks the first collaboration between Ning Hao and Andy Lau since Ning's 2006 sleeper hit *Crazy Stone*, which Lau's pan-Asian project Focus First Cuts produced to champion new talent; Lau had helped fund Ning early in his career[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article) • [12](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2255558/feature/). Ning conceived the story early in the pandemic with Lau in mind: a movie star who takes an against-type role to bait film festivals. \"I picked an angle that Andy is most familiar with. He is, after all, a superstar,\" Ning said[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article).\n\nShooting began only in March 2022 because of the pandemic and Lau's schedule. When Covid surged in Shenzhen, the key location, production moved to [Guangzhou](https://www.edgepedia.org/guangzhou), Sanwei, and [Hainan Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/hainan-island), and the crew \"filmed and improvised as we moved from place to place,\" a guerrilla style Ning compared to his early shoestring films[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article).\n\nHuanxi Media was the exclusive investor, and the film was released in the first quarter of 2024[2](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0426/2024042603567.pdf). Lau also served as executive producer through Infinitus Entertainment alongside Dong Ping of Huanxi Media, with CMC Pictures handling international sales[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article). The production company was Dirty Monkey Film Production Co.[6](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/movie-emperor)\n\n## Satire and reception\n\nThe film is a satire of the pretensions of the film industry, the cult of celebrity, cancel culture, and narrative-making, and both Lau and Ning lampoon themselves; Ning also stars as the director[5](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237786/busan-2023-movie-emperor-review-andy-lau-sends-himself-chinese-celebrity-culture-parody-directed) • [11](https://www.kai-fong.com/movies/the-movie-emperor). The character's name is a play on the real Chinese names of Tony Leung, Stephen Chow, and Lau himself, and the script is densely packed with references to Lau's career and to Hong Kong and mainland Chinese celebrity culture[13](https://www.filminquiry.com/the-movie-emperor-2023-review/) • [14](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-movie-emperor-busan/5186347.article).\n\nCritics responded well. On Rotten Tomatoes the film held a 100% Tomatometer from seven reviews, with an audience score of 60%[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_movie_emperor). Peter Debruge of *Variety* called it \"one of the year's savvier satires,\" and James Marsh of the *South China Morning Post* gave it 4/5, writing that it \"devours the low-hanging fruit of celebrity culture with commendable gusto\"[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_movie_emperor). The Screen International review found the comedy persuasive beyond its China-specific in-jokes, though it noted the storyline turns into \"a series of incremental displays of a vain man's hubris before the inevitable fall\"[14](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-movie-emperor-busan/5186347.article).\n\n## Release and box office\n\nAfter the festival run, the film opened wide in China on February 10, 2024, the first day of the [Chinese New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-new-year) holiday period, with limited releases in Australia and New Zealand from February 8[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28488862/releaseinfo/) • [8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Movie-Emperor-The-%282023-China%29). Reported box office totaled $13,100,097 worldwide, with China accounting for $13,041,286, Australia $44,748, and New Zealand $14,063[8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Movie-Emperor-The-%282023-China%29). In Hong Kong, where it opened on February 29, 2024 and ran 53 days, it earned HK$645,992 from 11,709 admissions[9](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/Hong%20Kong%20Film%20Industry%20Data%202024_EN.pdf). The film later became available on the streaming platform huanxi.com[16](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0425/2025042502229.pdf).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Trailer: 'The Movie Emperor', Far East Films](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-movie-emperor/)\n2. [Chairman's Statement, Huanxi Media Group 2023 Annual Report](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0426/2024042603567.pdf)\n3. [Ning Hao on satirising the film industry with Andy Lau-starrer 'The Movie Emperor', Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/ning-hao-on-satirising-the-film-industry-with-andy-lau-starrer-the-movie-emperor/5185954.article)\n4. [The Movie Emperor (2023) – Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28488862/releaseinfo/)\n5. [Busan 2023: The Movie Emperor review, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237786/busan-2023-movie-emperor-review-andy-lau-sends-himself-chinese-celebrity-culture-parody-directed)\n6. [The Movie Emperor, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/movie-emperor)\n7. [The Movie Emperor, CMGO](https://cmgo.com/web/en-US/m/movie/cmgo346_The-Movie-Emperor?rating=18®ion=MY)\n8. [The Movie Emperor (红毯先生) (2024) – Box Office, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Movie-Emperor-The-%282023-China%29)\n9. [Hong Kong Film Industry Information 2024, Hong Kong Trade Development Council](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/Hong%20Kong%20Film%20Industry%20Data%202024_EN.pdf)\n10. [The Movie Emperor, CMC Pictures](https://cmc-pictures.com/the-movie-emperor/)\n11. [The Movie Emperor review, Kai-Fong](https://www.kai-fong.com/movies/the-movie-emperor)\n12. [红毯先生 幕后花絮, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2255558/feature/)\n13. [The Movie Emperor: A Delightful Satire For A Perfect Andy Lau, Film Inquiry](https://www.filminquiry.com/the-movie-emperor-2023-review/)\n14. ['The Movie Emperor': Busan review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-movie-emperor-busan/5186347.article)\n15. [The Movie Emperor, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_movie_emperor)\n16. [Chairman's Statement, Huanxi Media Group 2024 Annual Report](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0425/2025042502229.pdf)\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 › Black comedy and satire films › Released 1998 to 2024*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 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/the-movie-emperor", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-emperor.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": "\"The Movie Emperor\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-emperor. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Movie Emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-emperor)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-emperor). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Movie Emperor\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-movie-emperor. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Movie Emperor is a 2024 Chinese comedy-drama by Ning Hao starring Andy Lau as a Hong Kong star chasing an award by playing a farmer; premiered at TIFF 2023, released in China February 10, 2024." }