Jackie Chan’s ‘Chinese Zodiac’ Boycotted Following Hong Kong Protest Remarks

Jackie Chan’s latest cinematic action flick Chinese Zodiac is being boycotted after the actor made some unpopular remarks about protests in Hong Kong.

Last month, the actor said the city had become overwhelmed with protests. Chan stated that Hong Kong’s citizens “scold China, scold the leaders, scold anything, protest against anything.” According to The Guardian, the action star feels that the right to protest should be restricted.

“There should be regulations on what can and cannot be protested,” he said.

In the wake of his controversial comments, the actor is facing a boycott of his movie Chinese Zodiac. The film opened in theaters last month. Although the movie fared well with audiences in other parts of the country, the picture failed to strike a chord with moviegoers in Hong Kong on opening weekend.

Yahoo! News explains that former student movement leader Wang Dan has asked residents to boycott Jackie Chan’s movie for making statements against democracy.

“Please don’t do this,” Chan said regarding the boycott. “Everyone has the freedom of speech. Everyone can disagree with my opinion, and I would respect other people’s opinions.”

As for the film’s box office performance, Chan doesn’t seem too worried about the film’s prospects.

He explained:

“My movie made 600 million in the Mainland and is also the Southeast Asia box office champion. Anybody can look it up. I don’t know how much it made in Hong Kong. Everyone has the right to watch me or not watch me, I don’t care.”

According to Movies with Butters, Chinese Zodiac has generated an impressive $76.5 million in China. This total makes it the seventh highest grossing Chinese film of all time. The film is likely to make even more cash when it hits theaters and home video in the United States and Europe.

Are you a fan of Jackie Chan? What do you think about the remarks he made about restricting protests in Hong Kong?