Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Lung Sihung, Yang Kuei-mei, Jacklyn Wu Chien-Lien, Wang Yu-wen, Sylvia Chang, Winston Chao DIRECTOR: Ang Lee CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jong Lin MUSIC: Mader PRODUCTION: Good Machine, Ang Lee Productions, Central Motion Picture Corporation, Xiongfa Film Company

Box Office Performance

Eat Drink Man Woman earned $7,294,403 domestically and $16,900,000 internationally, for a worldwide total of $24,194,403. International markets drove the majority of revenue (70%), indicating strong global appeal.

Detailed Box Office Notes

The film grossed $24.2 million worldwide generating the third biggest percentage return on cost of films released in the year, behind Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Lion King. It was the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the United States and Canada for the year with a gross of $7.3 million.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Tortilla Soup, a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Maria Ripoll, is based on Eat Drink Man Woman. A semi-sequel, Eat Drink Man Woman 2012 [饮食男女2012] (billed as Joyful Reunion in English) was released, with Jui-Yuan Tsao, producer for the original film, serving as director, and a new set of characters exploring similar themes.

The film was adapted off-screen as well. In 2019, produced by PerfectMatch Theatre co., LTD, the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts put on a musical production titled, Eat Drink Man Woman: The Musical. The musical is a direct adaptation of the film. With a total runtime of 160 minutes, the production strived to showcase as many iconic aspects from Ang Lee's film, such as the character's unique qualities and the beauty of food, through song and dance as possible. Unfortunately, the musical only ran for a recorded three days in September 2019; the production had a total of one night showing and two matinees.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Eat Drink Man Woman was filmed on-location in director Ang Lee's hometown Taipei. As of 2022, it is Lee's only film to be shot entirely in Taiwan.

The opening sequence - in which a Sunday lunch is lovingly prepared - took over a week to film and was accomplished with the use of an actual master chef, who doubled for actor Sihung Lung.

▸ Music & Score

The musical score was composed by French musician Thierry Schollhammer, credited under the mononym "Mader", and arranged by Sarah Plant. The soundtrack was released by Varèse Sarabande.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 15 nominations total

Nominations: ○ Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (67th Academy Awards) ○ International Submission to the Academy Awards

CRITICAL RECEPTION

In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin praised Ang Lee as "a warmly engaging storyteller". She wrote, "Wonderfully seductive, and nicely knowing about all of its characters' appetites, Eat Drink Man Woman makes for an uncomplicatedly pleasant experience".

In his review in The Washington Post, Hal Hinson called the film a "beautiful balance of elements ... mellow, harmonious and poignantly funny". Hinson concluded:

According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "A richly layered look at the complex interactions between a widowed chef and his daughters, Ang Lee's generational comedy Eat Drink Man Woman offers filmgoers a tasty cinematic treat."