# Sophie's Revenge (非常完美)
**Sophie's Revenge** (非常完美, *Fēicháng Wánměi*) is a 2009 Chinese-Korean romantic comedy directed by Eva Jin (金依萌), starring [Zhang Ziyi](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-ziyi) as a cartoonist who plots to win back the fiancé who left her for a famous actress. Zhang Ziyi also produced the film, her first credit as a producer and her first romantic comedy role, alongside co-stars [Fan Bingbing](https://www.edgepedia.org/fan-bingbing), So Ji-sub, Peter Ho, Ruby Lin, and Yao Chen.[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes) • [2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20090820/sophies-revenge-satisfies-to-a-point) Made on a budget of roughly 48 to 50 million RMB, it earned around 100 million RMB in mainland China and is credited with establishing the urban "chick flick" as a commercially viable genre in Chinese cinema.[3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / English title | 非常完美 (*Fei Chang Wan Mei*) / Sophie's Revenge; also released as 苏菲的复仇[4](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/64148/) |
| Director and writer | Eva Jin (金依萌, Yimeng Jin), her debut feature[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes) • [3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf) |
| Main cast | Zhang Ziyi (Sophie), Fan Bingbing (Wang Jingjing), So Ji-sub (Jeff), Peter Ho (Chang Rui), Ruby Lin, Yao Chen, Wang Ji[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes) |
| Release | 13-14 August 2009 (mainland China), 20 August 2009 (South Korea)[5](https://ent.ifeng.com/movie/news/mainland/200908/0816_1845_1304404.shtml) • [6](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=26349) |
| Budget | 48 million RMB (about 7 million USD) per one account; producer Du Yang of Perfect World cited an investment of 50 million RMB[3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf) • [7](https://finance.sina.cn/sa/2009-11-05/detail-ikftpnny0736415.d.html) |
| Chinese box office | Reported as 100 million RMB (15 million USD)[3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf); 112.73 million RMB (18.12 million USD) by another tally[8](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine/sub/feature.jsp?mode=A_VIEW&wbSeq=240) |
| Honors | Best New Director nomination, 10th Chinese Film Media Awards; Best Supporting Actress in a Chinese-language film, 5th Huading Awards[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sophie (Zhang Ziyi) is a cheerful cartoonist who has dated Jeff ([So Ji-sub](https://www.edgepedia.org/so-ji-sub)), a tall, handsome surgeon, for two years. He proposes in front of family and friends, but during a minor operation he meets the famous actress Wang Jingjing (Fan Bingbing) and falls for her, breaking off the engagement two months before the wedding.[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes)
Unable to face her mother (Wang Ji), who has been eagerly planning the wedding, Sophie hides the breakup from her family and confides only in her two close friends, Lu Xiaoxi ([Ruby Lin](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruby-lin)) and [Li Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-li) (Yao Chen). She resolves to use the two months before the wedding to win Jeff back, and plans to turn the campaign into a comic book proving that a stolen lover can be recovered by scientific method. Her first tactic, "tolerance and understanding," backfires embarrassingly. At a [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) party she meets the photographer Chang Rui (Peter Ho), and after seeing a photo of him with Wang Jingjing she recruits him as her partner; the revenge plan turns into a farce.[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes) In the ending, Sophie rejects her returning fiancé and accepts the photographer.[9](https://yule.sohu.com/20090907/n266536092.shtml)
## Production
The film was co-produced by Korea's CJ Entertainment and China's Perfect World Culture, the entertainment arm of the Beijing-based online game developer [Perfect World](https://www.edgepedia.org/perfect-world). Shooting began in November 2008 in Beijing, with a scheduled late-2009 mainland release.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/koreas-so-to-star-opposite-zhang-in-sophies-revenge/4041862.article) Perfect World Culture's general manager Du Yang, previously a producer at [Huayi Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/huayi-brothers) and Taihe Film, said the board's requirement was simply that the film not lose money; it was the company's first commercial feature.[7](https://finance.sina.cn/sa/2009-11-05/detail-ikftpnny0736415.d.html)
Director Eva Jin, who studied film in the United States, modeled the film on *Amélie*, a style no Chinese comedy had attempted, and the production mixed live action with 2D and 3D animation sequences rendering Sophie's fantasies.[4](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/64148/) • [11](https://movie.douban.com/review/2226932/) The crew included composer Nathan Wang (王宗贤), editor Zhang Jiahui (张嘉辉, of *Ip Man*), and visual effects supervisor Hu Shengzhong (胡陞忠, of *Spider-Man*).[11](https://movie.douban.com/review/2226932/) The Korea Times noted influences from *Bridget Jones's Diary*, *My Sassy Girl*, and *Amélie*-style animation in a Mandarin-language script with New York chick-lit dialogue.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20090820/sophies-revenge-satisfies-to-a-point)
## Box office and significance
The film opened strongly. Originally set for 14 August 2009, it was moved up half a day to the afternoon of 13 August at exhibitors' request, and its first half-day grossed nearly 4 million RMB, the highest opening for a Chinese-language film of the 2009 summer season.[5](https://ent.ifeng.com/movie/news/mainland/200908/0816_1845_1304404.shtml) Its first weekend took nearly 30 million RMB, the best result for a domestic romantic comedy in years, and the ten-day total reached 60 million RMB, a record for a domestic urban romance.[12](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/yl-dyzx/news/2009/08-18/1822738.shtml) • [13](https://www.sinoca.com/news/ent/2009-08-25/37629.html) It topped the mainland weekly chart in its second week with a 29 million RMB frame and a 54 million RMB cumulative total.[14](https://yule.sohu.com/20090828/n266309357.shtml)
Final Chinese grosses are reported differently: a Flinders University study of Chinese [chick flicks](https://www.edgepedia.org/chick-flick) records 100 million RMB (15 million USD),[3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf) Korean Cinema Today lists 112.73 million RMB (18.12 million USD),[8](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine/sub/feature.jsp?mode=A_VIEW&wbSeq=240) and a Chinese film database gives 91.99 million RMB.[15](https://baike.so.com/doc/1946181-2059209.html) In South Korea the film sold 121,018 admissions after its 20 August 2009 release.[6](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=26349)
The commercial result mattered beyond the film itself. Eva Jin became the first female director in China to break the symbolic 100 million RMB mark, and the film convinced the Chinese industry that romantic comedies could be a large-scale commercial success.[3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf) Scholars of Chinese cinema describe it as the first genuine chick flick of the mainland market, after which films such as *[Go Lala Go!](https://www.edgepedia.org/go-lala-go)* and *Love Is Not Blind* followed in a boom of the genre.[16](https://ac.wisvora.com/index.php/rwshkx/article/download/1209/1049/6626) It was also marketed as a China-America collaborative project aimed at young urban white-collar women.[3](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf)
## Reception
Contemporary reviews were mixed. The Korea Times called the film a "protein shake" of romance, slapstick, and melodrama, enjoyable but not completely filling.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20090820/sophies-revenge-satisfies-to-a-point) Chinese audiences interviewed at the mainland opening praised the polished production and gags while finding the central plot of winning back a boyfriend formulaic.[17](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2009-08-14/03002653224.shtml?from=wap) On Rotten Tomatoes the film held a 63% Tomatometer from a single review, with over 1,000 audience ratings.[18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sophies-revenge) A Douban review credited the strong crew work in visuals, music, and editing with compensating for a simple, familiar script.[11](https://movie.douban.com/review/2226932/)
The film's poster was accused of copying the American film *Made of Honor* (《为你疯狂》), and it received a G rating, suitable for all ages, in Japan.[1](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes) In 2010, American producer Mosaic Media Group bought the English-language remake rights.[19](https://history.thecover.cn/old/epaper/hxdsb/page/1/2010-04/14/015/20100414015_pdf.pdf)
## References
1. [非常完美 (剧情简介、演职人员、奖项、影片资料), 猫眼电影](https://www.maoyan.com/films/172?_v_=yes)
2. [Lee Hyo-won, "Sophie's Revenge Satisfies to a Point," The Korea Times, 20 August 2009](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20090820/sophies-revenge-satisfies-to-a-point)
3. [Shuying Liu, "The Emergence of Chick Flicks and 'Left-Over Girl' Discourse in Mainland China," Flinders University thesis](https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/afb42a78-4a9b-4d9c-837a-13917b8ebe2b/1/Shuying%20Liu_Women%27s%20Studies%20Thesis.pdf)
4. [非常完美 (2009), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/64148/)
5. [《非常完美》半日票房近400万 创暑期华语片最高开画, 凤凰网娱乐, 16 August 2009](https://ent.ifeng.com/movie/news/mainland/200908/0816_1845_1304404.shtml)
6. [소피의 연애매뉴얼 (Sophie's Revenge), 씨네21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=26349)
7. [完美时空 玩转大屏幕, 新浪财经, 5 November 2009](https://finance.sina.cn/sa/2009-11-05/detail-ikftpnny0736415.d.html)
8. [Korean Cinema Today: Chinese box office of Korean-related films](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine/sub/feature.jsp?mode=A_VIEW&wbSeq=240)
9. [暑期案例：《非常完美》一次成功的商业片示范, 搜狐娱乐, 7 September 2009](https://yule.sohu.com/20090907/n266536092.shtml)
10. [Sen-lun Yu, "Korea's So to star opposite Zhang in Sophie's Revenge," Screen Daily, 7 November 2008](https://www.screendaily.com/koreas-so-to-star-opposite-zhang-in-sophies-revenge/4041862.article)
11. [《非常完美》：是山寨，也是混血儿, 豆瓣影评, 14 August 2009](https://movie.douban.com/review/2226932/)
12. [章子怡爱情玩得转《非常完美》三天近3千万, 新京报 via 中国新闻网, 18 August 2009](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/yl-dyzx/news/2009/08-18/1822738.shtml)
13. [非常完美票房吸金6000万, 网易娱乐 via 加拿大华人网, 25 August 2009](https://www.sinoca.com/news/ent/2009-08-25/37629.html)
14. [0817-0823内地票房: 新片不力 《非常完美》登顶, 搜狐娱乐, 28 August 2009](https://yule.sohu.com/20090828/n266309357.shtml)
15. [非常完美 (《非常完美》电影), 360百科](https://baike.so.com/doc/1946181-2059209.html)
16. [中国内地"小妞电影"研究, 人文与社会科学学刊](https://ac.wisvora.com/index.php/rwshkx/article/download/1209/1049/6626)
17. [《非常完美》昨起上映 观众评价难称"完美", 扬子晚报 via 新浪娱乐, 14 August 2009](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2009-08-14/03002653224.shtml?from=wap)
18. [Sophie's Revenge (2009), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sophies-revenge)
19. [好莱坞翻拍《非常完美》, 华西都市报, 14 April 2010](https://history.thecover.cn/old/epaper/hxdsb/page/1/2010-04/14/015/20100414015_pdf.pdf)
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*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 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2009*
*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*
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