LayarHijau – A moviegoer in China who bought a ticket for Kung Fu Soccer (《功夫女足》) but received a ticket for Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (《欢迎来龙餐馆》) instead has sparked a heated discussion online. The case went viral on August 13 after Stephen Chow’s agent, Chen Zhenyu, shared a screenshot of the incident and added three question-mark emojis.
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Chen Zhenyu’s post quickly fueled speculation that box office revenue from Kung Fu Soccer had been diverted to Once Upon a Time in the Middle East. The allegation attracted particular attention because Kung Fu Soccer had already been at the center of previous reports alleging that cinemas had diverted part of the film’s box office revenue.
In mid-July, several moviegoers reported irregularities involving Kung Fu Soccer ticket sales at cinemas in China. Some said they had received handwritten tickets or tickets that did not match the movie they had paid to watch, raising concerns that revenue from Kung Fu Soccer was being recorded under other films.
The reports led Stephen Chow’s fans to gather evidence and report suspected violations involving cinemas. More than 90 cinemas were subsequently reported to have been ordered to make corrections, while more than RMB 1.6 million in Kung Fu Soccer box office revenue was reportedly recovered.
That earlier controversy helped explain why Chen Zhenyu’s post drew such immediate attention. However, when he shared the screenshot on August 13, there was still no explanation as to why the moviegoer had received a ticket for Once Upon a Time in the Middle East instead of Kung Fu Soccer.
The movie theater involved issued a clarification the following day, August 14, saying the incident was caused by an operational mistake during a busy period.
According to the theater, the customer had indeed asked to buy a ticket for Kung Fu Soccer. However, the movie had already been showing for about 20 minutes, meaning the ticketing system could no longer issue a ticket for that screening.
The customer insisted on getting a ticket, so a front-desk employee mistakenly issued a ticket for Once Upon a Time in the Middle East. The ticket information was then manually changed to Kung Fu Soccer.
The theater later corrected its box office records. The manager on duty recorded the admission under Kung Fu Soccer, reflecting the movie the customer had actually watched. The mistakenly issued Once Upon a Time in the Middle East ticket was then canceled and refunded.
After the theater issued its explanation, the official account for Once Upon a Time in the Middle East also shared the statement. The film team, which stars Shen Teng, said it had no involvement in the incident and had never instructed the theater to handle the ticket that way.
The production team also said it firmly opposed any form of box office revenue diversion, improper ticket changes or other practices that could disrupt the order of the film market.
The incident initially sparked speculation that Kung Fu Soccer box office revenue had once again been diverted to another movie. The theater’s subsequent explanation, however, said that this particular case was caused by an operational mistake by a staff member, while Shen Teng’s film team denied any involvement in the incident.
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