Shaolin Soccer

"Get ready to kick some grass!"

2001 1h 53m CN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 2,676

ActionComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.

“Get ready to kick some grass!”

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Cast

Stephen Chow
Mighty Steel Leg / Sing
Richard Ng Man-Tat
Fung
Zhao Wei
Mui
Patrick Tse Yin
Hung
Karen Mok Man-Wai
Team Moustache Player #2
Wong Yat-Fei
Iron Head
Mo Meilin
Hooking Leg
Tenky Tin Kai-Man
Iron Shirt

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Chow
Writers: Stephen Chow, Tsang Kan-Cheong, Steven Fung Min-Hang
Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Cantonese, Mandarin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Chow, shot by Andy Kwong Ting-Wo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Original score by Raymond Wong Ying-Wah. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hai Kit-Wai shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stephen Chow and Richard Ng Man-Tat and Zhao Wei carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Get ready to kick some grass!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Chow directs. Andy Kwong Ting-Wo behind the camera. Raymond Wong Ying-Wah scores. Hai Kit-Wai cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese, Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Cantonese, Mandarin.
4Directed by Stephen Chow, shot by Andy Kwong Ting-Wo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Raymond Wong Ying-Wah. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Hai Kit-Wai shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Stephen Chow and Richard Ng Man-Tat and Zhao Wei carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Get ready to kick some grass!".
9IMDB entry: tt0286112 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "martial arts", "kung fu", "sports", "steel helmet".
11Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Andy Kwong Ting-Wo
Original score: Raymond Wong Ying-Wah
Editing: Hai Kit-Wai
Costume design: Hilda Choi Yin-Man
Makeup / hair: Michelle Wong Yuk-Ting
Sound: Kinson Tsang King-Cheung
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,005
Box office: $42,776,760
Return: 428% of budget
Original language: CN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Awards

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Stephen Chow

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2025-04-16
★ 8/10
<em>'Shaolin Soccer'</em> is amusing! As someone who loves both film and football (soccer), it was about time I checked this one out. Of course, it holds little resemblance to actual footy but it still mixes the sport and the martial art impressively. It's funny, especially across the first half. I would say that the film overstays its welcome slightly, it does feel drawn out by the time that final match concludes. That isn't all that damaging mind you, because I'd consider this a fun time. Stephen Chow is entertaining, as are the rest of the cast to be fair; mostly so, Wong Yat-fei.
Sierbahnn2026-05-10
★ 7/10
A quarter of a century on and this is still a highlight There was a slew of these movies in the late 90s and early noughts. Some of them have aged poorly but this one still holds up. Yes, it is silly, and yes, it is over the top, but that's sort of the point, and the charm. It is well acted, the effects have aged well, the visual and sound design is on point for what it is, and it is just an all-round good time.