Hero
2002 1h 39m movie Film China

Hero

英雄

“One man's strength will unite an empire.”

Hero returned 5.7× its production cost, earning $177.4M against a $31.0M budget — one of the highest-return China films in our catalog.

Synopsis

英雄

“One man's strength will unite an empire.”

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

The 2001–2003 China Window

30 China films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Hero sits at position #8.

  1. For the Sake of the Republic
    #1

    For the Sake of the Republic

    ★ 9.5 · 2003

  2. The Grand Mansion Gate
    #2

    The Grand Mansion Gate

    ★ 9.3 · 2001

  3. Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre
    #3

    Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre

    ★ 8.6 · 2002

  4. Laughing in the Wind
    #4

    Laughing in the Wind

    ★ 8.6 · 2001

  5. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils
    #5

    Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

    ★ 8.1 · 2003

  6. Kangxi Dynasty
    #6

    Kangxi Dynasty

    ★ 7.9 · 2001

  7. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
    #7

    Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks

    ★ 7.6 · 2002

  8. Hero

    #8

    Hero

    ★ 7.5 · 2002

Titles With Overlapping Themes

Films and series that share thematic tags with Hero. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.

Other Titles From Beijing New Picture Film Co. Ltd.

The 2000s China Landscape

Catalog density by release year in the 2000s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Hero premiered. 142 total titles in this decade from China.

'004'0111'0213'036'049'0519'0617'0722'0817'0924

Budget & Box Office Efficiency

$31.0M
Budget
$177.4M
Revenue
$146.4M
Net Profit
5.7×
Return Ratio

At a 1h 39m runtime, production spent $313K per minute on screen and earned $1.8M per minute back.

Reception Benchmarks

7.5
TMDB Rating
2,032
Audience Reviews
Highly Rated
Critical Tier

Ranked #173 of 946 China films indexed here (82nd percentile by TMDB audience score).

Rating is +0.8 points above the China average of 6.7/10.

Among China Drama productions specifically: #108 of 547 (top 20%).

Production Details

Primary Country China
Original Language Chinese
Production Companies Beijing New Picture Film Co. Ltd., China Film Co-Production Corporation, Miramax
Runtime 1h 39m
Release Date July 22, 2002
IMDb tt0299977

Themes & Motifs

  • martial arts
  • kung fu
  • right and justice
  • countryside
  • loss of loved one
  • patriot
  • wuxia
  • warring states period
  • 3rd century bc

External Catalogs