The Viral Factor

2012 | Action, Drama, Thriller, Foreign Language

Synopsis

International Security Affairs agent Jon is on a dangerous mission to escort a criminal scientist to another country. En route, a member of his team, Sean, turns out to be a traitor and shoots Jon in the head while kidnapping the scientist. When Jon wakes up in the hospital, a doctor tells him that within weeks, the bullet in his brain will cause complete paralysis. Jon returns to Beijing to see his mother, who confesses that Jon has a brother in Malaysia who was raised by his father, a gambler. Jon takes a flight to Malaysia to find his brother, Yeung. On the plane he forms a bond with Dr. Kan, who promises to look into possible treatments for his condition. However, when they arrive, Yeung tries to kidnap the doctor and when Jon intervenes, he's also taken hostage. The two soon realize they're brothers, and decide to work together in order to keep the criminals behind the kidnappings from reinfecting the world of a disease long thought cured.

Scores

Overall Score
48.7
Popularity Percentile (Year)
31.0%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
67.3%
Review Aggregate
56.0

Critic Consensus

56.2% Fresh • 16 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 56% of 16 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize gritty, character-driven, suspenseful. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

grittycharacter-drivensuspensefulaction-packedemotionalvisually striking

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Jay Chou2012$43,328,000$59,199,000(est)
Nicholas Tse2012$26,672,000$36,441,000(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score56.0
RT critic review count16
Rotten Tomatoes audience score54.0
RT audience rating count500
IMDb rating5.9
IMDb votes2,814

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic2012$220,496$301,261
International2012$5,466,823$7,469,261
Worldwide2012$5,687,319$7,770,522

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).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue2012$2,296,977$3,138,335
Digital Rentals ?2012$2,071,000$2,829,585
Digital Purchases ?2012$931,000$1,272,015
Physical Rentals ?2012$3,282,000$4,484,161
Physical Purchases ?2012$8,108,000$11,077,873
TV & Streaming Revenue2012$99,223$135,568
Total Revenues2012$16,788,200$22,937,537
Expenses
Budget ?2012$200,000,000$273,257,839
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?2012$3,201,000 (est)$4,373,492 (est)
Participations2012$336,000$459,073
Residuals ?2012$951,000$1,299,341
Interest & Overhead2012$24,000,000$32,790,941
Total Expenses2012$228,488,000$312,180,686
Movie Net Profit or Loss2012$-211,699,800$-289,243,149

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