Synopsis
In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.
Scores
Overall Score
51.0
Popularity Percentile (Year)
42.6%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
46.4%
Review Aggregate
78.0
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is mixed, with 71% of 7 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize character-driven, romantic, historical. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.
character-drivenromantichistoricalemotionalvisually strikingthought-provoking
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gong Li | 1999 | $16,000 | $30,000 | (est) |
| Zhang Fengyi | 1999 | $10,000 | $19,000 | (est) |
| Zhou Xun | 1999 | $7,000 | $14,000 | (est) |
| Li Xuejian | 1999 | $6,000 | $11,000 | (est) |
| Chen Kaige | 1999 | $5,000 | $10,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score81.0
RT critic review count36
Rotten Tomatoes audience score79.0
RT audience rating count5,000
IMDb rating7.2
IMDb votes6,618
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1999 | $1,267,239 | $2,386,152 |
| International | 1999 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 1999 | $1,267,239 | $2,386,152 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1999 | $633,620 | $1,193,076 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1999 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1999 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1999 | $10,103,000 | $19,023,476 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1999 | $13,058,000 | $24,587,603 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1999 | $506,896 | $954,461 |
| Total Revenues | 1999 | $24,301,515 | $45,758,615 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1999 | $1,394,000 (est) | $2,624,837 (est) |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1999 | $1,014,000 (est) | $1,909,315 (est) |
| Participations | 1999 | $972,000 | $1,830,230 |
| Residuals ? | 1999 | $1,729,000 | $3,255,626 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1999 | $278,800 | $524,967 |
| Total Expenses | 1999 | $5,387,800 | $10,144,975 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1999 | $18,913,715 | $35,613,640 |
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