Here is how "Blades of The Guardians" is faring, this far: https://kisskh.at/767811-blades-of-the-guardians#comment-25208004
"Blades Of The Guardians" has already made huge history as a wuxia film and now the question is whether it will reach a certain figure to help this movie break even. Filming everything authentically on-location raises costs significantly, unlike green screens in studios and AI. Viewers aged 40 and above constitute the biggest demographics. Wuxia must be passed down and in the 1950s to 2010, that would be the likes of Jin Yong's novels. In this modern era, the manhua which has the first volume in English being released for sale on 3 March next week is likely to be the torchbearer to help forge a bridge to those novels.
Cinemas have not been doing well especially post-Covid, so it's great to hear "The King's Warden" is doing well.
Patrick's substack is focused on Asian cinema, and he notes the "The King's Warden" could be something special:
[ Korean theaters saw 3.23 million admissions across the four-day Lunar New Year period (14 to 17 Feb). But still way below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, the Seolal holiday period averaged between 1.35 and 1.41 million daily admissions. This year’s four-day total works out to a daily average of roughly 808,000...
... The film attracted 1.41 million moviegoers from Friday to Sunday, bringing its cumulative audience to over 5.8 million in 19 days. Local media report that the film’s budget was KRW10.5 billion ($7.25 million) break-even point was approximately 2.6 million spectators. It is now being asked whether the film can go all the way and reach 10 million spectators, the old-era mark of a full -blown blockbuster.]
You're welcome :) I've shared a link to the character posters in a reply at the top, and I will also share certain…
I have posted three updates on the "Blades of The Guardians" movie page. The results have been very impressive within 7 days, given all the limitations and disadvantages placed upon this film.
One more bit of news, before calling it a night for 23 February 2026:
Within 7 days of screening including today, "Blades of The Guardians" has grossed 800 million RMB as of 8.26 pm Beijing-time (Yanzi-niang looks lovely on that poster), also reversing many opinions of those who thought this movie would underperform and be overwhelmed in launching during this period:
Despite having less than "Pegasus 3" and "Scare Out" in terms of number of screenings in film schedules available every day, "Blades of The Guardians" has now moved into second place for projection results of the Spring Festival box office takings.
Also due to word of mouth, including Maoyan score as high as 9.4 alongside Douban ratings, real-time audience data has forced domestic theatres to increase their number of film schedules for "Blades Of The Guardians", from a limited screening availability of 16.8% to currently at 19.3%.
Originally, Dengta and Maoyan predicted the film's total box office gross to be approximately 900 million RMB. This estimate has been raised six times in a row, and currently in the range of 1.5 billion to 1.6 billion RMB, as of tonight. The predicted overall forecast takings has increased by more than 80% from initial expectations.
185 days was spent in the desert for authenticity. No studio comforts or special effects for much of this film, which the cast and crew had to go through. Yuen Woo-ping refused to use green screens for all scenes. Instead of utilising AI to create thousands of troops, more than 70% of the actions scenes were shot in the desert whereby every cast member earned more than bruises and mouthfuls of sand. It is paying off :)
Given how hard everyone has worked for this, a lot of wuxia fans are excited! I'm looking forward to the action…
I'm glad you love it! I watched it twice with IMAX screens, and I am very impressed by how Ci Sha, Yu Shi, Li Yunxiao, Chen Lijun and other artists portrayed their roles.
What did you like best about it?
Kana (Abrams ComicArts) will release Volume 1 of the manhua/graphic novel in English, on 3 March. A total of 4 volumes in English will be released this year.
"Blades Of The Guardians" is punching well above its weight domestically and internationally as a wuxia film to puncture initial expectations, including drawing a crossover audience in countries such as USA. In this recently-published article about the USA audience:
[ "Well Go USA is super pleased with the debut of its Chinese New Year’s title Blades of the Guardians... looking at an estimated $760k from 184 runs, including $282k from Thursday previews. Well Go says the audience is crossing over from the Chinese diaspora to mainstream action fans...
You should. Pytheos will be in Shenzhen next week to watch this.
It was fantastic and amazing on IMAX for me to enjoy!
I have posted a total of 3 updates chockful of details for "Blades Of The Guardians" today, at the top of this drama page. "Blades of The Guardians" has grossed more than 800 million RMB within 7 days, and broken at least 10 records. In USA, the reception has been fantastic also due to crossover audiences.
The clarion call for wuxia fans exploded, and there are people who haven't watched a wuxia film for more than 20 years returning to cinemas.
You won't learn anything by talking to a troll who doesn't know what is wuxia, doesn't know how the China box office works, tried to mislead another MDL user on this page more than a month ago into thinking they are chinese but in reality, the troll trashing this movie is xenophobic against chinese people.
Today is the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, ever since the first films to welcome the Lunar New Year box office premiered on the first day of the Lunar New Year (17 February).
Before I give an update for "Blades of The Guardians", kindly note that for wuxia films produced or co-produced in China, they tend to underperform. Between 2021 to 2023, only 5 of 23 major productions (all classified as wuxia films) grossed more than 100 million RMB at the box office. This genre has struggled at the box office, unless one considers the likes of the 2025 Tsui Hark movie, which was polarising.
On 23 January 2026 more than 4 weeks ago, I said the following to a fellow MDL viewer on this movie page for Blades Of The Guardians - ["The Shadow's Edge" grossed at least RMB 1.2 billion in the domestic market (more than RMB 77 million on Opening Day, and RMB 1.031 billion within the first three weeks of release). I don't see how this will fare any worse and should not be an issue. Multi-generational is very appealing, this is an A-list cast in Sui Dynasty settings, plus the director will be in his element. ]
"The Shadow's Edge" is not a wuxia film. If wuxia films fare so poorly in China, why would I say the above?
Maoyan initially projected "Blades of The Guardians" to gross 900 million RMB. The forecast projection from Maoyan as of today (at this point of time) is estimated to gross 1.3 billion RMB. Lighthouse estimates 1.5 billion RMB.
This is how BoTG has continued (today is the 7th day of its screening):
BoTG premiered on 17 February. BoTG reached the 6-day-earnings of "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" within 5 days of premiering, and also surpassed the 6-day-earnings for "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" on the 6th day yesterday.
On the 6th day of the domestic release for "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms", that movie reached 70+ million USD (https://www.jiemian.com/article/9804644.html). You can compare this with Day 5 and Day 6 of BoTG gross amounts.
For perspective, the 2025 Tsui Hark film reached 689 million RMB after 89 days, 12,000 theatres and at least 1.42 million moviegoers. BoTG surpassed this in less than 6 days: https://www.donews.com/news/detail/4/6435179.html
As of today, BoTG has broken 10 records for the domestic box office pertaining to its genre, and now officially recognised as the #1 wuxia film produced in China for this Lunar New Year.
Douban should never be considered as a primary factor when used to evaluate a movie or drama. You can use Douban as a factor alongside other factors when evaluating a drama or movie (Douban didn't register the extent of success which "Whispers of Fate" achieved including more than 2.83 billion accumulative views via CSM data or WOF being the only C-drama that aired in 2025 to be nominated for CPOPwave 2026 or WoF hitting more than 1 billion views on Thailand's Monomax and setting a new record for C-dramas). At this point, "Blades of The Guardians" on Douban is the #1 Lunar New Year movie in terms of ratings (and closest to the ratings for the first movie in the "Creation Of The Gods" movie trilogy).
The second movie for Creation of the Gods earned roughly half of what the first movie for Creation of The Gods earned. The Douban ratings are hugely different.
"Pegasus 3" should be the highest-grossing film in terms of a sprint because Pegasus 3 opened with the largest number of screens available at 29.9% market share, mostly in primetime screenings plus a majority of IMAX screens, and Pegasus 3 is definitely more family-friendly. Pegasus 3 arrives on the back of a successful franchise as the third installment with maximum advantages out of all movies screening for the Lunar New Year, so certain numbers are expected for Pegasus 3 to achieve.
Majority of the screenings for the first day of BoTG were non-primetime screenings (early in the morning or late at night), and total number of screens in filming schedules available for BoTG was at market share of 16.8%. Wuxia films are expected to do badly at the box office. BoTG has been severely disadvantaged from the beginning and never expected to top the box office, so whoever makes such a claim before 17 February clearly knows nothing about the China box office and Chinese movies. The "decline" of BoTG began to reverse on the second day. You can see complaints on social media whereby supply criteria of film schedules and other logistics didn't meet initial viewer demands for BoTG.
Common sense also prevails, meaning you wouldn't bring a ten-year-old (or younger) to watch BoTG being clearly geared for a more-niche audience. This is reflected for international ratings such as Malaysia: https://www.gscmovies.com.my/blades-of-the-guardians/
BoTG is now the biggest dark horse of the Spring Festival, movie-wise. The latest forecast projections are now estimated to be somewhere between 1.1 to 1.5 billion RMB.
For films such as "Creation Of The Gods" and "Blades Of The Guardians" belonging to two different genres, we look for a strong tail based on word of mouth, not a sprint.
Viewers are lauding the likes of Chen Lijun (Ayuya) and Li Yunxiao (Yanzi-niang) as strong female characters reshaping and breaking the stereotypes of women in martial arts films. Wu Jing chose to reduce his screentime, to be given to younger artists. Yu Shi completed more than one amazing dangerous stunt without any stand-ins.
Overseas, BoTG has topped the box office of Chinese films in North America for three consecutive days, and also topped the box office of Chinese films in Malaysia for three consecutive days. BoTG also topped the Australian box office for Chinese films on the first and third days of viewing. In Malaysia, almost all theatres were sold out on the first day of premiering. From Malaysia to Singapore to North America, many viewers have written about growing up with wuxia while praising the actions, aesthetics and authenticity of the sets and fights and sandstorms.
"Blades Of The Guardians" is at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert.com gives it 3.5 out of 4. If you do a simple Google of the English reviews that have been officially published and found in the News section, many are glowing. Bilibili and other platforms are chockful of enthusiasm and praise from mandarin speakers.
Popping the MDL bubble briefly, just to share all this :D
Thanks for the summary🤩😍. Excited about this, grew up watching Yuen WooPing’s WuXia show. This definitely…
Maoyan initially projected this movie to gross 900 million+ RMB. The projection from Maoyan as of yesterday has increased to approximately 1.2 billion RMB, which matches my reply to you more than a month ago on this page that 1.2 billion RMB should not be an issue for "Blades of Guardians" to achieve.
BoTG premiered on 17 February. BoTG reached the 6-day earnings of "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" within 5 days of premiering, and surpassed "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" on the 6th day yesterday.
Wu Jing has been inundated with requests for a sequel, and I also have news for that.
Douban should never be considered as a primary factor when used to evaluate. You can use Douban as a factor alongside other factors when evaluating a drama or movie (do note that Douban didn't register the extent of success that "Whispers of Fate" achieved including more than 2.83 billion accumulative views via CSM data or WOF being the only C-drama that aired in 2025 to be nominated for CPOPwave 2026 or WoF hitting more than 1 billion views on Thailand's Monomax). At this point, "Blades of The Guardians" on Douban is the #1 Lunar New Year movie in terms of ratings (and closest to the ratings for the first movie for Creation Of The Gods).
Nobody evaluates the actual details of success relative to a C-drama or C-movie based on comments from an MDL page,. But you can always find someone who knows what they are talking about :D
Nothing died. Possibly inspired by a J-drama news article co-authored by myself and another MDL user published…
We'll disagree on what you classify as News. Besides, you can always try to write something better, to showcase your standards and what you consider to be noteworthy news that you're not paying for but expect others to produce :)
I finished watching this yesterday in IMAX, and I'm going for a second rewatch in the upcoming week with IMAX again. The sequencing and martial arts choreography between three wushu champions is insane, within the first twenty-five minutes. That's why all three wound up with dozens of minor injuries during filming, but this can only be done with such martial arts veterans while completely old-school.
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Cinemas have not been doing well especially post-Covid, so it's great to hear "The King's Warden" is doing well.
Patrick's substack is focused on Asian cinema, and he notes the "The King's Warden" could be something special:
[ Korean theaters saw 3.23 million admissions across the four-day Lunar New Year period (14 to 17 Feb). But still way below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, the Seolal holiday period averaged between 1.35 and 1.41 million daily admissions. This year’s four-day total works out to a daily average of roughly 808,000...
... The film attracted 1.41 million moviegoers from Friday to Sunday, bringing its cumulative audience to over 5.8 million in 19 days. Local media report that the film’s budget was KRW10.5 billion ($7.25 million) break-even point was approximately 2.6 million spectators. It is now being asked whether the film can go all the way and reach 10 million spectators, the old-era mark of a full -blown blockbuster.]
Within 7 days of screening including today, "Blades of The Guardians" has grossed 800 million RMB as of 8.26 pm Beijing-time (Yanzi-niang looks lovely on that poster), also reversing many opinions of those who thought this movie would underperform and be overwhelmed in launching during this period:
https://www.sina.cn/news/detail/5269609559099732.html
https://www.163.com/dy/article/KMG088K00517RTVV.html
Despite having less than "Pegasus 3" and "Scare Out" in terms of number of screenings in film schedules available every day, "Blades of The Guardians" has now moved into second place for projection results of the Spring Festival box office takings.
Also due to word of mouth, including Maoyan score as high as 9.4 alongside Douban ratings, real-time audience data has forced domestic theatres to increase their number of film schedules for "Blades Of The Guardians", from a limited screening availability of 16.8% to currently at 19.3%.
Originally, Dengta and Maoyan predicted the film's total box office gross to be approximately 900 million RMB. This estimate has been raised six times in a row, and currently in the range of 1.5 billion to 1.6 billion RMB, as of tonight. The predicted overall forecast takings has increased by more than 80% from initial expectations.
185 days was spent in the desert for authenticity. No studio comforts or special effects for much of this film, which the cast and crew had to go through. Yuen Woo-ping refused to use green screens for all scenes. Instead of utilising AI to create thousands of troops, more than 70% of the actions scenes were shot in the desert whereby every cast member earned more than bruises and mouthfuls of sand. It is paying off :)
What did you like best about it?
Kana (Abrams ComicArts) will release Volume 1 of the manhua/graphic novel in English, on 3 March. A total of 4 volumes in English will be released this year.
And lastly, one more update about the USA reception, which has been fantastic: https://kisskh.at/767811-blades-of-the-guardians#comment-25211846
Lastly, "Blades of The Guardians" has grossed more than 800 million RMB within 7 days of screening: https://kisskh.at/767811-blades-of-the-guardians#comment-25211958
[ "Well Go USA is super pleased with the debut of its Chinese New Year’s title Blades of the Guardians... looking at an estimated $760k from 184 runs, including $282k from Thursday previews. Well Go says the audience is crossing over from the Chinese diaspora to mainstream action fans...
...“Crossover momentum is turning this into a true theatrical event, and we’re expanding to meet the demand,” says Jason Pfardrescher, EVP Distribution. He’s hoping to add at least 100 screens, which would be unusual as Chinese films don’t often move beyond their opening footprint. ] - https://deadline.com/2026/02/indie-film-box-office-blades-of-the-guardians-elvis-presley-1236732697/
It was fantastic and amazing on IMAX for me to enjoy!
I have posted a total of 3 updates chockful of details for "Blades Of The Guardians" today, at the top of this drama page. "Blades of The Guardians" has grossed more than 800 million RMB within 7 days, and broken at least 10 records. In USA, the reception has been fantastic also due to crossover audiences.
The clarion call for wuxia fans exploded, and there are people who haven't watched a wuxia film for more than 20 years returning to cinemas.
Yu Shi and Ci Sha did very well in their roles! I have posted a recent update as the newest of 141 comments posted to this page.
Well, Nezha is currently an animated cartoon in my mind not matching any actor 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I have also posted an update: https://kisskh.at/767811-blades-of-the-guardians#comment-25208004
And it was a blast in the cinema, where IMAX is the only way to go!
今天是大年初七, 人日快乐，身体健康!
You won't learn anything by talking to a troll who doesn't know what is wuxia, doesn't know how the China box office works, tried to mislead another MDL user on this page more than a month ago into thinking they are chinese but in reality, the troll trashing this movie is xenophobic against chinese people.
Before I give an update for "Blades of The Guardians", kindly note that for wuxia films produced or co-produced in China, they tend to underperform. Between 2021 to 2023, only 5 of 23 major productions (all classified as wuxia films) grossed more than 100 million RMB at the box office. This genre has struggled at the box office, unless one considers the likes of the 2025 Tsui Hark movie, which was polarising.
On 23 January 2026 more than 4 weeks ago, I said the following to a fellow MDL viewer on this movie page for Blades Of The Guardians - ["The Shadow's Edge" grossed at least RMB 1.2 billion in the domestic market (more than RMB 77 million on Opening Day, and RMB 1.031 billion within the first three weeks of release). I don't see how this will fare any worse and should not be an issue. Multi-generational is very appealing, this is an A-list cast in Sui Dynasty settings, plus the director will be in his element. ]
"The Shadow's Edge" is not a wuxia film. If wuxia films fare so poorly in China, why would I say the above?
Maoyan initially projected "Blades of The Guardians" to gross 900 million RMB. The forecast projection from Maoyan as of today (at this point of time) is estimated to gross 1.3 billion RMB. Lighthouse estimates 1.5 billion RMB.
This is how BoTG has continued (today is the 7th day of its screening):
#5th day of 21 February (breaks 500 million RMB at 12.50 pm, poster of Ayuya shared): https://www.jiemian.com/article/14025616.html
#6th Day of 22 February (breaks 600 million RMB at 11.05 am, poster of Zhi Shi Lang shared): https://www.jiemian.com/article/14026483.html
As of midnight on 22 February becoming 23 February, BoTG hit 700 million RMB (poster of Heyi Xuan shared): https://www.jiemian.com/article/14027184.html
#As of 11.30 am Beijing-time 23 February today, BoTG has hit 711 million RMB: https://news.china.com/socialgd/10000169/20260223/49261332.html
As of 1.30 pm Beijing-time today, 2 hours later, BoTG has grossed more than 740 million RMB: https://news.sina.com.cn/zx/2026-02-23/doc-inhnusxh2811694.shtml
BoTG premiered on 17 February. BoTG reached the 6-day-earnings of "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" within 5 days of premiering, and also surpassed the 6-day-earnings for "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" on the 6th day yesterday.
On the 6th day of the domestic release for "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms", that movie reached 70+ million USD (https://www.jiemian.com/article/9804644.html). You can compare this with Day 5 and Day 6 of BoTG gross amounts.
BoTG also surpassed Tsui Hark's 2025 film (which grossed 689 million RMB): https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32643601
For perspective, the 2025 Tsui Hark film reached 689 million RMB after 89 days, 12,000 theatres and at least 1.42 million moviegoers. BoTG surpassed this in less than 6 days: https://www.donews.com/news/detail/4/6435179.html
As of today, BoTG has broken 10 records for the domestic box office pertaining to its genre, and now officially recognised as the #1 wuxia film produced in China for this Lunar New Year.
Douban should never be considered as a primary factor when used to evaluate a movie or drama. You can use Douban as a factor alongside other factors when evaluating a drama or movie (Douban didn't register the extent of success which "Whispers of Fate" achieved including more than 2.83 billion accumulative views via CSM data or WOF being the only C-drama that aired in 2025 to be nominated for CPOPwave 2026 or WoF hitting more than 1 billion views on Thailand's Monomax and setting a new record for C-dramas). At this point, "Blades of The Guardians" on Douban is the #1 Lunar New Year movie in terms of ratings (and closest to the ratings for the first movie in the "Creation Of The Gods" movie trilogy).
The second movie for Creation of the Gods earned roughly half of what the first movie for Creation of The Gods earned. The Douban ratings are hugely different.
Douban ratings for the first movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/10604086/ (closest to this is BoTG)
Douban ratings for the second movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/30181250/
Douban ratings for Tsui Hark's 2025 film: https://movie.douban.com/subject/36289423/|
"Pegasus 3" should be the highest-grossing film in terms of a sprint because Pegasus 3 opened with the largest number of screens available at 29.9% market share, mostly in primetime screenings plus a majority of IMAX screens, and Pegasus 3 is definitely more family-friendly. Pegasus 3 arrives on the back of a successful franchise as the third installment with maximum advantages out of all movies screening for the Lunar New Year, so certain numbers are expected for Pegasus 3 to achieve.
Majority of the screenings for the first day of BoTG were non-primetime screenings (early in the morning or late at night), and total number of screens in filming schedules available for BoTG was at market share of 16.8%. Wuxia films are expected to do badly at the box office. BoTG has been severely disadvantaged from the beginning and never expected to top the box office, so whoever makes such a claim before 17 February clearly knows nothing about the China box office and Chinese movies. The "decline" of BoTG began to reverse on the second day. You can see complaints on social media whereby supply criteria of film schedules and other logistics didn't meet initial viewer demands for BoTG.
One other MDL user has shared a few details on some problems with viewers wanting to see BoTG but being unable to do so within China: https://kisskh.at/767811-blades-of-the-guardians#comment-25182890
Common sense also prevails, meaning you wouldn't bring a ten-year-old (or younger) to watch BoTG being clearly geared for a more-niche audience. This is reflected for international ratings such as Malaysia: https://www.gscmovies.com.my/blades-of-the-guardians/
BoTG is now the biggest dark horse of the Spring Festival, movie-wise. The latest forecast projections are now estimated to be somewhere between 1.1 to 1.5 billion RMB.
For films such as "Creation Of The Gods" and "Blades Of The Guardians" belonging to two different genres, we look for a strong tail based on word of mouth, not a sprint.
Viewers are lauding the likes of Chen Lijun (Ayuya) and Li Yunxiao (Yanzi-niang) as strong female characters reshaping and breaking the stereotypes of women in martial arts films. Wu Jing chose to reduce his screentime, to be given to younger artists. Yu Shi completed more than one amazing dangerous stunt without any stand-ins.
Overseas, BoTG has topped the box office of Chinese films in North America for three consecutive days, and also topped the box office of Chinese films in Malaysia for three consecutive days. BoTG also topped the Australian box office for Chinese films on the first and third days of viewing. In Malaysia, almost all theatres were sold out on the first day of premiering. From Malaysia to Singapore to North America, many viewers have written about growing up with wuxia while praising the actions, aesthetics and authenticity of the sets and fights and sandstorms.
"Blades Of The Guardians" is at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert.com gives it 3.5 out of 4. If you do a simple Google of the English reviews that have been officially published and found in the News section, many are glowing. Bilibili and other platforms are chockful of enthusiasm and praise from mandarin speakers.
Popping the MDL bubble briefly, just to share all this :D
This is how BoTG has continued (today is the 7th day of its screening):
5th day of 21 February (breaks 500 million RMB): https://www.jiemian.com/article/14025616.html
6th Day of 22 February (breaks 600 million RMB): https://www.jiemian.com/article/14026483.html
Less than 3 hours ago this morning before 8 am in Beijing, BoTG broke through the 700 million RMB ceiling: https://www.jiemian.com/article/14027184.html
As of 11.30 am Beijing Time, BoTG has hit 711 million RMB: https://news.china.com/socialgd/10000169/20260223/49261332.html
BoTG premiered on 17 February. BoTG reached the 6-day earnings of "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" within 5 days of premiering, and surpassed "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms" on the 6th day yesterday.
On the 6th day of the release domestically for "Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms", that movie hit 70+ million USD (https://www.jiemian.com/article/9804644.html).
BoTG yesterday also surpassed Tsui Hark's film (starring Xiao Zhan) which grossed 689+ million RMB released for CNY 2025: https://c.m.163.com/news/a/KMD3SVQD0514CFC7.html
Wu Jing has been inundated with requests for a sequel, and I also have news for that.
Douban should never be considered as a primary factor when used to evaluate. You can use Douban as a factor alongside other factors when evaluating a drama or movie (do note that Douban didn't register the extent of success that "Whispers of Fate" achieved including more than 2.83 billion accumulative views via CSM data or WOF being the only C-drama that aired in 2025 to be nominated for CPOPwave 2026 or WoF hitting more than 1 billion views on Thailand's Monomax). At this point, "Blades of The Guardians" on Douban is the #1 Lunar New Year movie in terms of ratings (and closest to the ratings for the first movie for Creation Of The Gods).
The second movie for Creation of the Gods earned roughly half of what the first movie for Creation of The Gods earned.
Douban ratings for the first movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/10604086/ (closest to this is BoTG)
Douban ratings for the second movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/30181250/
Overall ratings on Douban for Tsui Hark's 射雕英雄传：侠之大者 matches what the movie earned: https://movie.douban.com/subject/36289423/
Nobody evaluates the actual details of success relative to a C-drama or C-movie based on comments from an MDL page,. But you can always find someone who knows what they are talking about :D
今天是大年初七, 人日快乐，身体健康!
Whatever the inspiration, I think it's good to at least encourage more J-drama articles :)
It is an old-school wuxia movie, in so many ways. The official trailer is awesome and nothing to do with Hollywood. Here's my article for this movie, way before it aired: https://news.mydramalist.com/article/cinematic-wuxia-epic-blades-of-the-guardians-premieres-on-february-17