Military blockbuster "Wolf Warrior 2" is unstoppable in China, having broken a set of all-time box office records at surprising speed.
A still of "Wolf Warrior 2"
Action star Wu Jing's military action film "Wolf Warrior 2" has ignited huge enthusiasm among Chinese patriots and hard-core military fans -just as he did in 2015 with the first installment grossing 540 million yuan using a 10 million yuan budget at the box office.
"Wolf Warrior 2" cost 200 million yuan to make and was expected to perform well as a normal blockbuster considering the current lukewarm Chinese film market. It has to overcome strong pressure to compete against many summer blockbusters especially with the rival Chinese military epic "The Founding of an Army" with a star-studded cast and hyped up revolutionary heroes.
But things went crazy when the second installment opened on July 27, as it grossed more than 100 million yuan just hours into a weekday evening. It raked in 212 million yuan on Friday and continued to gross 310 million yuan on Saturday and 364 million on Sunday. The Sunday earning also stands as the biggest single day gross for any Chinese domestic film ever in history, breaking the record previously held by Tsui Hark's "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back."
"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).
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.
