One of China’s most famous filmmakers has fired a shot across the bow of the country’s film industry, saying the focus on box office receipts is resulting in shoddy films.

Feng Xiaogang said Chinese films these days are just bad. “They are a tremendously bad influence upon the development and production of the Chinese film industry. This will cause producers to be less willing to invest in serious films that won’t make large profitsThey are a tremendously bad influence upon the development and production of the Chinese film industry. This will cause producers to be less willing to invest in serious films that won’t make large profits,” he said. Feng doesn’t stop there, even suggesting modern films are lacking in quality. “They can wrap up shooting in six days, and yet still receive a huge box office.”

Feng, notorious for his candid nature, made the remarks during a taping for a new reality TV show called “Hidden Energy”, that coincidentally begins airing today (February 6).

And while he’s no stranger to hype, Feng himself is no stranger to Chinese blockbusters. His 2013 film Personal Tailor made RMB 712 million that year, making it the 17th highest-grossing film ever released in China.

Even though Feng didn’t name names as he pointed fingers, it’s not hard to see who he was criticizing by looking at last year’s highest grossing films. They may not be the specific examples he had in mind, but they sure did make a lot of money.

The 2014 Chinese box office was divided about equally between Chinese and foreign films, of which the latter were all Hollywood blockbusters that are highly regulated. As Feng was specifically talking about Chinese films, this leaves five left: two rom-coms, a drama, a movie based on a reality show, and China’s own version of a Hollywood blockbuster.

China’s highest-grossing domestic film last year was the rom-com road trip movie Breakup Buddies, a vehicle for one of China’s most bankable stars, Huang Bo. Breakup Buddies did remarkably well at the box office, earning RMB 1.16 billion, making it the second-highest grossing film last year, and the fifth-highest grossing movie ever released in China. Perhaps China’s closest answer to Adam Sandler or Kevin James, Huang Bo has starred in several of China’s top grossing domestic films, the greatest of which is Lost in Thailand (2012).

Another rom-com that did well last year is the movie The Breakup Guru, earning RMB 666 million. Gritty novel adaption The Continent made 630 million, while reality show phenomenon Daddy, Where are We Going? made RMB 696 million.

However, one film did stand out last year, and it was the action blockbuster The Monkey King. Starring Donnie Yen, Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok, the CGI-enhanced extravaganza made RMB 1 billion at the box office on a RMB 400 million budget. The Monkey King has the distinction of setting numerous domestic box office records, including highest opening day record and highest single-day box office record.

Who’s to say which film Feng was criticizing? We may never know. But from looking at Feng’s filmography, we can see that he hasn’t been keen on making big-budget kung-fu action movies lately, not since The Banquet (2006). And while he’s been known for making successful comedies, Feng has been trying to diversify himself lately with dramas (Aftershock, 2010) and period pieces (Back to 1942, 2012).

We’ll just have to wait until The Monkey King sequel starring Aaron Kwok as the newly-cast titular hero gets released next year for some clarification.