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Released
2015 · FILM

The Assassin

A skilled assassin returns to her homeland in 9th-century China to confront her past and carry out a deadly mission: killing the man she once loved, now a powerful military commander.

Directed by
Hsiao Hsien Hou
Written by
Cheng Ah, T Ien Wen Chu
Runtime
105 min
Language
ZH
ActionDramaHistory
Streaming on
  • MUBI
  • Prime Video

Synopsis

Set in 9th-century China, *The Assassin* follows Nie Yinniang, the daughter of a general who was abducted at age ten by a nun and trained in martial arts. The nun transforms her into a skilled assassin tasked with eliminating corrupt and cruel local officials. After failing in one mission, Yinniang is sent back to her homeland with orders to kill her betrothed—her cousin, who now commands the largest military region in North China. Having spent 13 years in exile, she must now face her parents, confront her past, and deal with emotions she has long suppressed.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Director

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 19

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Paulie Chih Chia HuangShot by Ping Bin LeeScored by Giong LimDesigned by Wen Ying Huang

Box Office

2015 · Box office

📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.8× its budget

Why 2.5×?

Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).

Worldwide gross

$12.0M

Budget$15.0M
Worldwide gross$12.0M
break-even (2.5×)

Opening week (7-day): $69K

Peak 4 theaters

Also known as

  • The Assassinde
  • The Assassinen
  • Nie Yinniangit
  • Nie yinniangzh
  • 聶隱娘zh

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