“Wolf Warrior 2” Becomes China’s Highest-Grossing Film

Wu Jing’s (吴京) Wolf Warrior 2 <战狼> has taken over the box office, outranking Stephen Chow’s (周星馳) The Mermaid <美人魚> as the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in the nation.

The patriotic action film follows a Chinese ex-soldier, portrayed by Wu Jing, who ventures into Africa to save trapped medical aid workers from rebels. The film grossed 1.6 billion RMB on its first week of releasing, outgrossing the premiere week of Hollywood’s Dunkirk. The film has since grossed 4.4 billion RMB, overtaking The Mermaid as the highest-grossing Chinese film in the world. It is the fastest film to cross 4 billion RMB in China’s box office history.

From this film alone, Wu Jing has become China’s highest-grossing actor and director.

Wolf Warrior 2 sends powerful nationalistic messages throughout the film. Critics say this is the reason why the film has been so successful. International media who have covered the film, such as the BBC, called the film a phenomenon with “chest-thumping Chinese patriotism”. BBC also praised the “Hollywood quality” action in the movie, with critics saying that it is the best Chinese action film that they’ve ever seen.

People’s Daily called the movie a Chinese superhero movie, and that the film sends a message of fearlessness and patriotism, writing, “A strong country makes a wealthy home.”

Even the CEO of Miaotai—a type of Chinese baijiu—wrote a statement to thank film. Wu Jing  drank Miaotai during a part in the film, and viewers wondered if Wu Jing was sponsored by the brand. He responded, “No. I only want to promote our country’s products.” This prompted the CEO to release a statement in thanks, and treated his 30,000 employees for a special screening of the film.

Source: HK01.com

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.