General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

City of Rock

City of Rock (缝纫机乐队, literally "Sewing Machine Band") is a 2017 Chinese musical comedy film directed by Da Peng (Dong Chengpeng) about a small-town musician who forms a rock band to save his hometown's Rock Park from demolition by a real estate developer. It was released in China on September 29, 2017 and in a limited United States run on October 6, 2017.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Original title	缝纫机乐队 (Sewing Machine Band)³
Director and writer	Da Peng (Dong Chengpeng), co-written with Su Biao; producer Chen Zhixi¹
Release	China September 29, 2017; US limited release October 6, 2017¹^•²
Runtime	117 minutes (Well Go USA's site lists 140 minutes; the Australian DVD is classified at 118 minutes)¹^•³^•⁴
Principal cast	Da Peng (Cheng Gong), Qiao Shan (Hu Liang), Gulnazar (Ding Jianguo), Lee Hong-chi (Zha Yao)⁵
US box office	$312,537 from a widest release of 43 theaters; opening weekend $115,524²
Ratings	IMDb 6.1; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 79% from one review⁵^•⁶

Spoilers

Plot

The story is set in Ji'an, a small city in Jilin province, where the local landmark Rock Park is slated for demolition and redevelopment. Hu Liang, a rock enthusiast, spends his family's money to hire Cheng Gong, a failed and money-minded music agent, and recruits drummer Zha Yao, bass player Ding Jianguo, guitarist Yang Shuangshu, and keyboardist Xi Xi. Together they form the band Sewing Machine, going from a sparsely attended recruitment site to a stage before thousands of people. While preparing the charity concert meant to save the park, a local real estate tycoon offers a high price to cancel the show so the demolition can proceed.⁷^•¹^•³

Production and release

The film was registered as a feature story film under filing number 影剧备字[2016]第6914号, with Shanghai Tacheng Film as the filing unit and Da Peng and Su Biao as screenwriters. Its production companies were Shanghai Ruyi Film Production, and its producing group also included Wanda Pictures and the Youth Enlight entity; Beijing Enlight Pictures handled distribution.¹ The Australian Classification entry lists Enlight Media as production company and Da Peng, Yedda Chen, Raymond Ke, and Li Xiaoping as producers.⁴ Rotten Tomatoes names Beijing Ruyi Xinxin Film Investment and Wanda Pictures as production companies, with Well Go USA as the North American distributor.⁶

Filming took place in Ji'an, Jilin and Beijing, and the film's theme song is "Plastic Bag" (塑料袋).¹ The Australian Classification Board rated the film M, with coarse language as the consumer advice, on October 9, 2017.⁴

Director

Da Peng was born in 1982 in Ji'an City, Jilin Province, the same city where the film is set. He began as a talk show host at Sohu.com, created the internet series Diors Man in 2012, and won Best New Director and Best New Actor at the 12th CCTV6 Media Awards in 2015 for his first film, Jian Bing Man (Pancake Man). In 2016 he played the lead in Feng Xiaogang's I Am Not Madame Bovary, earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 11th Asian Film Awards. City of Rock, his second feature, was described on its US release site as his highly anticipated sophomore film.⁸^•³

Cast

Da Peng plays the agent Cheng Gong, and Qiao Shan plays Hu Liang. Gulnazar (Gulnezer Bextiyar) plays bassist Ding Jianguo, Lee Hong-chi plays drummer Zha Yao, Han Tongsheng plays guitarist Yang Shuangshu, and Qu Junxi plays keyboardist Xi Xi. Supporting roles include Yue Yunpeng as Qiao Dashan, Yu Qian as Sun Dali, Zhou Dongyu as Tongtong, Victoria Song as the teacher of Qianqian, and Lin Chi-ling as the voice of Sweety.⁵^•⁷

Box office and reception

In the United States, the film opened on October 6, 2017 in 43 theaters, grossing $115,524 in its first weekend and a total of $312,537 over six weeks, with 96.6 percent of its $9,118,873 worldwide gross (as tracked by Box Office Mojo for this release) coming from international territories.² A separate database drawing on TMDb reports a worldwide gross of $80.0 million for the film, a figure that conflicts with Box Office Mojo's $9.1 million and is flagged there as needing review.⁹

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 79 percent Tomatometer score from a single published review; critic David Noh of Film Journal International called it "a rambunctious, obvious but nonetheless quite entertaining romp."⁶ Its IMDb rating is 6.1.⁵ The film is available for streaming on services including Tubi TV, AsianCrush, and Plex, and for rental on Amazon Video, Fandango at Home, and the Apple TV Store.⁵

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026