Synopsis
Bilike has never seen a ping-pong ball before. He and his family live without electricity and running water in a solitary tent home among the vast steppe grasslands. The magnificent landscape here has changed little since the days of Genghis Kahn. But life in the middle of nowhere can be exciting for a young boy. The smallest of details become big events for curious Bilike and his best friends Erguotou and Dawa. The mystery of the small white ball floating in the creek leads to questions about the world around them, as well as innocent mischief. Bilike's grandmother says the ball is a glowing pearl from heaven. But the boys are sceptical after waiting all night outdoors for the ball to light up. Since nobody has an idea about the odd white object, they trek to the faraway monastery to consult the wise lamas. But even the grasslands' most knowledgeable inhabitants are stumped. While watching the new TV-set Dawa's father has won, the boys learn about pingpong. They are excited to hear that their object is the 'national ball of China'. Not realizing how far Beijing actually is, the determined young boys set off to return the ball to the Chinese capital...
Scores
Popularity Percentile (Year)
16.0%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
31.7%
Critic Consensus
83.3% Fresh • 24 critic reviews
Critic reception is largely positive, with 83% of 24 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize lighthearted, coming of age, visually striking. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
lightheartedcoming of agevisually strikingfamily-friendlycharacter-drivenfunny
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|
| N/A |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score83.0
RT critic review count24
Rotten Tomatoes audience score71.0
RT audience rating count500
IMDb rating6.6
IMDb votes856
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|
| Domestic | 2006 | $71,223 | $110,827 |
| International | 2006 | $48,509 | $75,483 |
| Worldwide | 2006 | $119,732 | $186,309 |
Earnings / Profitability
Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|
| Revenues |
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 2006 | $55,015 | $85,606 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 2006 | $119,000 | $185,170 |
| Digital Purchases ? | 2006 | $37,000 | $57,574 |
| Physical Rentals ? | 2006 | $3,774,000 | $5,872,539 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 2006 | $8,902,000 | $13,851,971 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 2006 | $35,612 | $55,413 |
| Total Revenues | 2006 | $12,922,627 | $20,108,274 |
| Expenses |
| Budget ? | 2006 | $250,000 (est) | $389,013 (est) |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 2006 | $96,000 (est) | $149,381 (est) |
| Participations | 2006 | $517,000 | $804,479 |
| Residuals ? | 2006 | $937,000 | $1,458,020 |
| Interest & Overhead | 2006 | $50,000 | $77,803 |
| Total Expenses | 2006 | $1,850,000 | $2,878,695 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 2006 | $11,072,627 | $17,229,578 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|
 | The Intouchables | 2012 | Shared genres: 3 | 95.5 | $143,746,003 |
 | Life Is Beautiful | 1998 | Shared genres: 3 | 95.2 | $112,743,538 |
 | 3 Idiots | 2009 | Shared genres: 3 | 89.8 | $56,355,505 |
 | PK | 2014 | Shared genres: 3 | 88.8 | $60,599,371 |
 | Wild Tales | 2015 | Shared genres: 3 | 87.1 | $21,136,822 |
Tooltips
- Budget Estimated using Machine Learning
- Digital Rentals: PVOD, VOD, & On-Demand
- Marketing & distribution costs to release Movie in Theaters. Includes: Online & Offline Ads, Posters, Trailer Production, and physical or digital copies (formerly "prints") sent to cinemas.
- Net Digital Purchase Revenue
- Net Revenues for Physical Rentals: VHS, DVD, BluRay (when appropriate)
- Physical Purchases: VHS $0, DVD $8,785,000, BluRay $117,000
- Reported or Estimated Net Budget (after tax, product placements, & grants)
- Theatrical box office grosses split into Domestic, International, and Worldwide totals.
- Union-modeled residuals using SAG-AFTRA and WGA schedules as a simplified estimate proxy.
- reestimate_prior_estimate;covid_mult=1.00;peer_count=0;reg_box_pred=302130;reg_main_pred=984004
Budget Tooltip
Reported or Estimated Net Budget (after tax, product placements, & grants)
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