Drunken Master (Chinese: 醉拳; lit. ‘drunken fist’) is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, and Hwang Jang-lee. It was a success at the Hong Kong box office, earning two and a half times the amount of Yuen’s and Chan’s previous film, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, which was also considered a hit.
It is an early milestone of the kung fu comedy genre, and helped make Jackie Chan famous in Asia. The film popularised the Zui Quan (“drunken fist”) infused with unique animal fighting style. In 2017, it was ranked number 3 on GamesRadar’s list of 50 greatest kung fu movies of all time.
It spawned an official sequel, Drunken Master II (1994), and several spin-offs. It had a significant cultural impact, inspiring numerous later films, music, manga, anime and video games. At the Hong Kong box office, Drunken Master earned an impressive HK$6,763,793[2] (US$1,445,255). It was the second most popular film in Hong Kong in 1978 behind the Hui brothers’ The Contract and third on the all-time list.
Combined, the film grossed an estimated total of approximately US$16,483,650 (equivalent to $68,000,000 in 2021) in East Asia and Europe.
