'Wolf Warrior 2' smashes Chinese film records
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 2, 2017
"Wolf Warrior 2" also became the fastest film to reach the 1 billion yuan mark at the box office, breaking the record held by Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid." Analysts consider that if the excitement for "Wolf Warrior 2" doesn't slow down, it could likely top the all-time highest box office record held by "The Mermaid," which eventually grossed 3.39 billion yuan (US$517.3 million).
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A poster of "Wolf Warrior 2" |
The stunning performance of the 989 million yuan (US$147.22 million) intake by "Wolf Warrior 2" in China over the weekend put it at No.1 on the international box office chart for last week, with Christopher Nolan's war epic "Dunkirk" second, which took in another US$45.6 million from 12,600 screens in 63 markets. "Dunkirk" will open in China on Sept. 1.
"Wolf Warrior 2," directed by the actor Wu, sends the Rambo-like protagonist Leng Feng, who was expelled from the special forces of the Chinese army, to Africa for a rescue mission. The film features many explosive scenes, including having 100 cars destroyed in explosions. American movie star Frank Grillo ("Captain America: Civil War") and Chinese American actress Celina Jade ("Arrow") also star in the film. The film's script is inspired by the historical event of China's navy evacuating almost 600 Chinese citizens and 225 foreign nationals from Yemen's southern port of Aden in 2005.
The film and "The Founding of an Army" are two films screened at this particular time to celebrate the Chinese army's 90th anniversary which falls on Aug. 1. But the performance of "The Founding of an Army," though grossing over 200 million yuan (US$29.76 million) over the last weekend, couldn't match the achievements of "Wolf Warrior 2."
"Wolf Warrior 2’s" success re-ignited a lukewarm Chinese cinema audience since the big fall from its peak when "The Mermaid" was on top early last year.
The director-and-actor Wu wanted to send a message that the motherland will always be there for any Chinese citizen who encounters danger overseas. The film's plot made many Chinese feel national pride through the heroism of the Chinese style superhero.
"I hope China's passport will be the best in the world. Maybe it cannot allow you to go to every place in the world right now, but it can help you come back home from any place," Wu remarked at the film's premiere in Beijing.
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