# Weekend in Taipei
**Weekend in Taipei** is a 2024 action thriller directed by George Huang, written by [Luc Besson](https://www.edgepedia.org/luc-besson) and Huang, and produced by Luc Besson and Virginie Besson-Silla for the French studio EuropaCorp. It stars [Luke Evans](https://www.edgepedia.org/luke-evans) as John Lawlor, a United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who returns to Taipei after fifteen years and reunites with Joey Kwang (Gwei Lun-Mei), a former lover who works as a driver for the criminal underworld and is now married to a billionaire drug kingpin ([Sung Kang](https://www.edgepedia.org/sung-kang)). The film was shot entirely in Taipei and is a French-Taiwanese-American co-production in English.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) • [2](https://www.revealfilms.com/weekendintaipei) • [3](https://www.vscinemas.com.tw/vsweb/film/detail.aspx?id=7413)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Directed by George Huang; written by Luc Besson and George Huang[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) |
| Principal cast | Luke Evans (John Lawlor), Gwei Lun-Mei (Joey), Sung Kang (Kwang), Wyatt Yang (Raymond)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) • [4](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/?rf=cons_rwurv_ov_hdr) |
| Production | EuropaCorp; producers Virginie Besson-Silla and Luc Besson; production countries France and Taiwan[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) • [2](https://www.revealfilms.com/weekendintaipei) |
| Release | Earliest release September 19, 2024 (United Arab Emirates); France and Taiwan September 25, 2024; United States November 8, 2024 (limited)[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/releaseinfo/) |
| Box office | Worldwide $2,994,328, of which $608,034 (20.3%) domestic and $2,386,294 international; domestic opening $380,057[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/) |
| Reception | 52% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (23 reviews); 69% Popcornmeter audience score[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) |
| Rating and runtime | Rated R for violence; running time about 1 hour 40 minutes[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
The story follows DEA agent John Lawlor, described in promotional material as an agent who will sacrifice anything to close a case. Years earlier he fell in love with Joey Kwang, a fast-driving "Transporter" in Taipei's criminal underworld, but the two were separated by crime and corruption. Fifteen years later, Lawlor, who has been working undercover as a chef, takes an off-the-books weekend mission to Taipei to bring down a billionaire drug kingpin, who turns out to be Joey's new husband, and the former lovers reunite with dangerous consequences.[2](https://www.revealfilms.com/weekendintaipei) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei)
Sung Kang, known for the [Fast & Furious](https://www.edgepedia.org/fast-and-furious) franchise, plays the kingpin Kwang; Wyatt Yang plays Raymond and Pernell Walker plays Charlotte.[4](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/?rf=cons_rwurv_ov_hdr) For Gwei Lun-Mei, a Golden Horse Award-winning Taiwanese actress, the film marked her first role in a Hollywood production; in interviews she described playing a character at different stages of her life and said the shoot let her rediscover Taiwan's scenery.[7](https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2024926W02EA)
## Production
The project grew out of director George Huang's earlier work with producer Virginie Besson-Silla. Huang, who is from Taiwan, has said that Luc Besson enjoyed shooting his 2014 film *[Lucy](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucy-2014-film)* in Taiwan, which motivated the choice of location; the two developed the script together over about two years, aiming for a spontaneous plot and then designing feasible action scenes around it.[8](https://asiablooming.com/2024/11/04/actor-sung-kang-and-director-george-huang-talk-new-film-weekend-in-taipei/) • [9](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/81/82/283217/presse/week-end-a-taipei-dossier-de-presse-francais.pdf)
The film was shot fully in Taipei, and Taiwanese marketing described it as the first Hollywood action film shot entirely in Taiwan.[3](https://www.vscinemas.com.tw/vsweb/film/detail.aspx?id=7413) The crew was mostly local to Taipei, with French department heads for physical and car stunts and the cinematographer, Colin Wandersman, and other staff from Hollywood; Huang has described coordinating a trilingual crew working in Mandarin, French, and English as the production's biggest challenge and its greatest asset.[9](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/81/82/283217/presse/week-end-a-taipei-dossier-de-presse-francais.pdf) The film's street racing and fight sequences use familiar Taipei locations, and the cast includes Taiwanese actors in action roles.[3](https://www.vscinemas.com.tw/vsweb/film/detail.aspx?id=7413)
## Release
The film opened first in the Middle East on September 19, 2024, and reached France, Belgium, and Taiwan on September 25, 2024, followed by a staged international rollout through more than a dozen territories, including Russia, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, and the United States on November 8, 2024.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/releaseinfo/) [Ketchup Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/ketchup-entertainment) was the United States distributor, and the film began streaming on December 3, 2024.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) In Taiwan the film is titled 台北追緝令, and in China 周末狂飙.[3](https://www.vscinemas.com.tw/vsweb/film/detail.aspx?id=7413) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/releaseinfo/)
Taipei City marked the local release with two free public screenings, announced by Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) in September 2024.[10](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/english/2625007) A re-release ran in APAC and EMEA markets from March 13 to April 11, 2025, adding $100,050 to the total.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/)
## Box office and reception
The film grossed $2,994,328 worldwide, with $608,034 (20.3%) from the domestic (United States) market and $2,386,294 internationally across 19 markets in the original release. Its domestic opening was $380,057. The leading international markets were France ($806,854), the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) ($615,710), and Russia/CIS ($327,528).[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 52% Tomatometer score from 23 reviews and a 69% audience score. The site's critics consensus calls it "a glossy but thoroughly derivative action film" that squanders its set pieces on a cliché-ridden script. Reviewers noted its lean pacing and slick surface; Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media described it as "another slick B movie from Luc Besson's action factory... lean and crisp and has a pleasant lightness," while other critics found the story stiff and predictable.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei) Commentators placed the film in the tradition of Besson's earlier action brands such as *The Transporter* and *Taken*, noting its deliberate echo of 1990s-style action movies.[11](https://www.joblo.com/interviews-weekend-in-taipei/)
## References
1. [Weekend in Taipei, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_in_taipei)
2. [Weekend in Taipei, Revealfilms](https://www.revealfilms.com/weekendintaipei)
3. [台北追緝令 (Weekend in Taipei), 威秀影城 Vieshow Cinemas](https://www.vscinemas.com.tw/vsweb/film/detail.aspx?id=7413)
4. [Weekend in Taipei, IMDbPro](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/?rf=cons_rwurv_ov_hdr)
5. [Weekend in Taipei (2024), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt28142896/)
6. [Weekend in Taipei (2024) release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/releaseinfo/)
7. [Interview with 'Weekend in Taipei' star Gwei Lun-mei, Formosa News](https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2024926W02EA)
8. [Actor Sung Kang and Director George Huang Talk New Film, 'Weekend in Taipei', Asia Blooming](https://asiablooming.com/2024/11/04/actor-sung-kang-and-director-george-huang-talk-new-film-weekend-in-taipei/)
9. [Week-End à Taipei press kit (French), Unifrance](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/81/82/283217/presse/week-end-a-taipei-dossier-de-presse-francais.pdf)
10. [Taipei offers free screenings of Luc Besson's new film, TVBS News](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/english/2625007)
11. [Interviews: Weekend in Taipei stars and director, JoBlo](https://www.joblo.com/interviews-weekend-in-taipei/)
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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 › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action thrillers, 2020s › Crime, assassin, and vigilante thrillers › Titles M to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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