Renowned Hong Kong filmmaker and comedian Stephen Chow has returned to directing with another box-office hit, as his latest film, Kung Fu Soccer, grossed more than 455 million yuan ($67 million) in its first two days in the Chinese mainland despite sharply divided audience reviews.

The film, regarded as the spiritual successor to Chow's 2001 classic Shaolin Soccer, opened to strong demand across the country, quickly emerging as the biggest title of this year's summer movie season.

Industry observers noted that its early success reflects a combination of Chow's enduring popularity, nostalgia for one of Chinese cinema's most beloved comedies and a summer market that has lacked a breakout blockbuster.

Directed and co-written by Chow, Kung Fu Soccer stars Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba and Lay Zhang, with Carina Lau and Japanese actor Takeru Satoh making special appearances.

The film follows a women's soccer team as it rises from an overlooked underdog to a championship contender, blending Shaolin kung fu with soccer.

It also marks Chow's first feature as a director since The New King of Comedy in 2019, ending a seven-year hiatus. It is also being positioned as a multilingual release featuring dialogue in Putonghua (Standard Chinese), Cantonese, English, Korean, Japanese and Thai, with producers hoping to capitalize on global interest surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a report by Variety.

According to data from ticketing platform Maoyan, Kung Fu Soccer accounted for 48.2 percent of nationwide screenings on its opening day.

It earned more than 260 million yuan on its first day alone, accounting for 80.3 percent of China's total daily box office and helping the market surpass the 300 million yuan mark for a single day for the first time in 136 days.

Maoyan data also showed that 61 percent of those who marked the film as "want to watch" on the platform were male, while women accounted for 39 percent.

"The film's strong opening can be attributed to several factors," Zhang Peng, a cultural researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times.