On February 12th, the search term “Jia Ling cried” (贾玲哭了) was trending on one of the biggest Chinese social media platforms, Weibo, sparking attention and discussion. As of now, the topic has reached 260 million reads and 25,000 discussions. Jia Ling, who had lost 100 kilograms, appeared at the premiere of her new film “YOLO” 《热辣滚烫》.
In fact, since June last year, Jia Ling has rarely appeared in public. This long “disappearance” made her extremely nervous about standing in front of the public again. Born on 29 April 1982, Jia Ling is a Chinese comedian, actress, producer and director from Xiangyang, Hubei Province. The film “YOLO”, directed and starring Jia Ling, has topped the Spring Festival box office in just three days.
According to data from Lighthouse Professional Edition, as of 9:45 pm on February 12th, the total box office (including pre-sales) for the 2024 Spring Festival period (February 10th to February 17th) exceeded 3.7 billion yuan. Among them, the total box office of “YOLO” has exceeded 1.1 billion yuan, firmly securing the throne of the Spring Festival box office champion. Combined with her first film, “Hi, Mom” 《你好，李焕英》, Jia Ling’s box office has exceeded 6 billion yuan, making her the second highest-grossing female director globally as of today.
At the premiere, Jia Ling expressed that due to not meeting with the audience for a long time, she felt nervous and worried that her performance wouldn’t be good enough. However, the audience responded with warm encouragement, shouting “come on” in unison and cheering Jia Ling up. “Filming this movie, I did my best, hoping that when you see me again in the theater, you can feel proud of me,” Jia Ling said.
In the movie “YOLO”, Jia Ling portrays Le Ying, a protagonist who isolates herself from society after graduating from university. Inspired by boxing and the phrase “you only live once”, she chooses to change her life, becoming a female boxer and finding the answer to “who am I?” on the stage.
For the shooting, Jia Ling gained and lost weight. This dramatic transformation amazed the audience, with many expressing admiration for her efforts and perseverance. One netizen said, “Jia Ling’s abs make me tear up, it takes so much effort and persistence to achieve this!”
The film “YOLO” is Jia Ling’s return to the Spring Festival box office as a director and lead actor three years after “Hi, Mom,” with the weight loss of 100 kilograms being a selling point of the film. The buzz on social media platforms largely revolves around “YOLO premiere”, “Jia Ling’s abs,” and “Jia Ling now”.
