'Wolf Warrior 2' becomes highest grossing Chinese film
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 8, 2017
Military blockbuster "Wolf Warrior 2" has become the greatest Chinese film of all time in just 12 days and its producer tells China.org.cn in an exclusive interview that this is a triumph of the "Chinese Dream."
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An IMAX poster of "Wolf Warrior 2." The IMAX version of the film will hit Chinese theaters on Aug. 18, 2017. [Photo/ China.org.cn] |
The film, directed by and starring director-and-actor Wu Jing, raked in more than 3.4 billion yuan (US$505.89 million) as of midnight on Monday, breaking the previous all-time highest box office record held by Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid," which in total grossed 3.39 billion yuan during the Spring Festival of 2016.
"Wolf Warrior 2" tells the story of a former Chinese Special Forces operative's adventures rescuing compatriots and local friends in a war-torn region of Africa occupied by insurgents and mercenaries. It ignited huge enthusiasm among not only Chinese patriots and hard-core military fans, but also the nation as a whole.
Zhang Miao, the general manager of Beijing Culture Media Company and the producer of "Wolf Warrior 2," said to China.org.cn that he is very proud of his partner and personal friend Wu Jing, as well as all of the cast and crew of the film. "The film's success is mainly down to the complete devotion of the team led by director Wu Jing, but we think this is also a triumph of the communist revolutionary gene in the film, a triumph of the Chinese dream for building a strong nation, and a triumph of China's zeitgeist."
Zhang is currently with Wu Jing on a multi-city promotional tour around China, which will culminate in Hefei on Tuesday. Wu reflected at a meet and greet in Changsha city, saying that, "It is because I'm lucky, rather than the merits of my artistry." Wu told the audience, "It is you the audience which creates the box office miracle together, and thank you for your tolerance of the shortcomings of the film. But I believe everybody feels my sincerity to make a good film, and you are so smart to see it."
"Wolf Warrior 2" costs 200 million yuan (US$29.75 million) to make and was expected to perform well as a normal blockbuster considering the current lukewarm Chinese film market. But since its release, it has broken nearly all film records at a stunning pace, including the biggest single day gross for a Chinese film and fastest film to break the 1 billion, 2 billion and 3 billion yuan marks at the box office.
It's worth noting that its outstanding performance also dominated the world box office chart for the second consecutive week. "This is a milestone for a Chinese film to lead the world film market like this, and from it we can see how big the Chinese market is when it is in a full power," Zhang said.
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