Hong Kong Celebrities Still a Hot Commodity in Mainland China
Hong Kong’s golden age of entertainment may be long gone, but the impact of its celebrities are far from over.
According to several lists and charts that have been circulating in the inter webs of Mainland China, many Hong Kong celebrities are still some of the most expensive celebrities in the country, despite the rise of idol fandoms in the mainland.
When it comes to appearance fees, Hong Kong martial arts legend Jackie Chan (成龍) remains to be one of the highest-paid male artiste, at 3 million yuan per show. Sammo Hung (洪金寶), Chinese actor Chen Daoming (陳道明), and Jet Li (李連傑) are also worth 3 million yuan per show.
Chinese idol actor-singer Kris Wu (吳亦凡), who started his fame in K-Pop as a member of EXO, is also worth 3 million yuan per show, and is the youngest artiste on the 3 million range.
Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung (張家輝) is the second highest-paid actor, at 2.6 million yuan per show. Louis Koo (古天樂), surprisingly, is at a lower range, at around 1.05 million yuan per appearance.
When it comes to female artistes, Hong Kong singer G.E.M. (鄧紫棋) is dropping jaws with earning 2.4 million yuan per show, higher than any other female artiste that appeared on the list, including Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) and Zhang Ziyi (章子怡), each earning only 2 million yuan per appearance. G.E.M. shot to fame in the mainland after appearing in the 2014 edition of I Am a Singer <我是歌手>.
There is a clear pattern in male artistes earning more than female artistes—in the list of highest-paid celebrity endorsers, Chen Daoming tops the list, with earning 38 million yuan per two-year contract. Following Chen is Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) at 30 million yuan per two years. Andy Lau (劉德華) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai (梁朝偉) also earn 30 million yuan per two years. Kris Wu follows with 25 million yuan, and is the only “90s after” artiste seen on the list.
As for female artistes, Hong Kong actress Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) remains to be the hottest commodity for endorsers, earning 25 million yuan per two years, defeating even popular actress Yang Mi (楊冪), who earns 23 million yuan per two-year contract. Following Yang Mi is Sun Li (孫儷) and Faye Wong (王菲), each earning 20 million yuan.
While the reported prices can only be used as reference, it does give a good glimpse into who has true star power in the country.
Highest-Paid Male Artistes Per Appearance in Mainland China
1) Jackie Chan at 3 million yuan (HK)
2) Sammo Hung at 3 million yuan (HK)
3) Chen Daoming at 3 million yuan
4) Jet Li at 3 million yuan
5) Kris Wu at 3 million yuan
6) Jin Dong at 3 million yuan
7) Joker Xue at 3 million yuan
8) Nick Cheung at 2.6 million yuan (HK)
9) Deng Chao at 2.3 million yuan
10) Wang Feng at 2.2 million yuan
Highest-Paid Female Artistes Per Appearance in Mainland China
1) G.E.M. at 2.4 million yuan (HK)
2) Jane Zhang at 2 million yuan
3) Chris Lee at 2 million yuan
4) Song Hye-kyo at 2 million yuan (SK)
5) Jolin Tsai at 2 million yuan (TW)
6) Fan Bingbing at 2 million yuan
7) Zhang Ziyi at 2 million yuan
8) Carina Lau at 2 million yuan (HK)
9) Na Ying at 2 million yuan
10) Faye Wong at 2 million yuan (HK)
11) Xie Na at 2 million yuan
12) Angelababy at 2 million yuan (HK)
13) Dilireba at 2 million yuan
14) Maggie Cheung Man-yuk at 1.8 million yuan (HK)
15) Li Bingbing at 1.8 million yuan
Highest-Paid Male Artistes in Endorsements Per 2-Year Contract in Mainland China
1) Chen Daoming at 38 million yuan
2) Chow Yun-fat at 30 million yuan (HK)
3) Andy Lau at 30 million yuan (HK)
4) Tony Leung Chiu-wai at 30 million yuan (HK)
5) Hu Ge at 26 million yuan
6) Kris Wu at 25 million yuan
7) Jin Dong at 20 million yuan
8) Wu Jing at 20 million yuan
9) Jacky Cheung at 20 million yuan (HK)
10) Jackie Chan at 20 million yuan (HK)
Highest-Paid Female Artistes in Endorsements Per 2-Year Contract in Mainland China
1) Carina Lau at 25 million yuan (HK)
2) Yang Mi at 23 million yuan
3) Sun Li at 20 million yuan
4) Zhang Ziyi at 20 million yuan
5) Faye Wong at 20 million yuan (HK)
6) Lin Chi-ling at 18 million yuan (TW)
7) G.E.M. at 15 million yuan (HK)
8) Chris Lee at 15 million yuan
9) Song Hye-kyo at 15 million yuan (SK)
10) Gong Hyo-jin at 15 million yuan (SK)
11) Zhou Dongyu at 15 million yuan
12) Bai Baihe at 15 million yuan
13) Angelababy at 15 million yuan (HK)
14) Liu Wen at 15 million yuan (USA)
15) Dilireba at 15 million yuan
16) Cecilia Liu at 14 million yuan
17) Gao Yuanyuan at 12 million yuan
18) Twins at 12 million yuan (HK)
19) Jing Tian at 12 million yuan
20) Gulinazha at 12 million yuan
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Not much longer..
There’s nobody in their 20s/30s/40s (except Louis Koo) in HK entertainment that can replace any of these HK artists on the list when they are gone. These artists will take the HK entertainment to their grave with them. Lol
Twins, GEM and Angela baby don’t count.
@anon totally agree, even though their price tag is still high but its definitely not going to last for long… it will eventually come to a point viewers will no longer have interest in them as they get older and the new generation no one is there to replace them…
@vodka
Exactly once they reach their 70s/80s. Besides their hardcore fangirls/fanboys, most of the public wouldn’t care.
look at the the age of these hk stars, they were all (except for gem) are from the 70s/80s/90s era. there is no new hk blood that even comes close. if there is, they’d be debutting elsewhere, korea or china cause hk ET has been going down for at least a decade if not more.
@m0m0
Yup, if there is an artist from HK, is attractive and talented, you wouldn’t debut in HK. It’s a waste of time and resources. You would debut in China or Korea for the best opportunities, exposure, and the best resources to help you reach stardom, if they make it big, would they still be considered an HK artist then? Not in my books they are not.
Even when you take GEM and Angelababy into considerations, these two were known in HK but made their fame in China.
IMO, HK entertainment has been in a decline for 20 years.
@anon In my opinion, HK entertainment has been in decline since pretty much the second half of the 90s era – so definitely more than 20 years….nowadays, the industry has become unrecognizable and to me, it’s already dead. I know a lot of HK entertainment old-timers take offense to people saying that the industry is “dead” but to me, that’s just people’s way of burying their heads in the sand and trying to deny the obvious. It’s not a coincidence that most of the HK celebrities who can be considered “big stars” nowadays are almost all from the 70s/80s era – goes to show how poorly the HK entertainment industry has been with cultivating talent over the past 30 years. I can’t think of any current artists – or any even from the previous 20 years if I’m being honest – whose works are able to transcend time the way that most of the 70s/80s artists’ works have been able to do.
Speaking of big stars, did anyone watch Sam Hui’s concert yesterday? Now there’s a living legend who still has the ability unite HK, even if only for a brief hour, with a repertoire of songs that were written more than 30 years ago, but yet are still relevant to audiences today. I loved the concert, but it also saddened me because 1) it once again reminded me how much the HK entertainment industry has declined, and 2) it reminded me also how many truly talented, legendary artists we have lost over the past 3 decades (I just about broke down when Sam sang “Silence is Golden”, which is the song he wrote for his good friend Leslie Cheung back in the late 80s/early 90s and often performed as a duet with him back then – it’s been difficult for me to listen to that song since Leslie’s death, especially knowing the backstory with how that song came to be and the meaning behind the lyrics…that song is still one of the most beautiful Cantopop songs ever though).
How old is this list? It doesn’t seem up to date.