Wolf Warrior 2
Wolf Warriors 2 | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Wu Jing |
Written by | Wu Jing Dong Qun Liu Yi |
Produced by | Wu Jing Jiang Ping Zhao Haicheng Li Yang Zhao Jianjun Xu Zhiyong Jing Defu Liu Kailuo Deng Hao Wu Yan[1] |
Starring | Wu Jing Celina Jade Frank Grillo Hans Zhang Wu Gang |
Music by | Joseph Trapanese |
Release date |
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Running time | 121 minutes[2] |
Country | China |
Languages |
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Budget | CN¥200 million (US$30.1 million)[3] |
Box office | CN¥5.43 billion (US$819.3 million)[4] |
Wolf Warriors 2 (Chinese: 战狼2) is a 2017 Chinese action film directed by Wu Jing, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Hans Zhang, and Wu Gang. The film is a sequel to 2015's Wolf Warriors. It was released in China on 27 July 2017.[5][6] In Wolf Warriors 2, a loose cannon Chinese soldier named Leng Feng who takes on special missions around the world. In the sequel he finds himself in an African country protecting medical aid workers from local rebels and vicious arms dealers.
Wolf Warriors 2 received general praise for its patriotic plot, special effects, action sequences and the cast's performances. It was a massive commercial success and has become the highest-grossing Chinese film ever released. The film broke numerous box office records, including the biggest single-day gross for a Chinese film as well as the fastest film to cross RMB 2 billion, 3 billion, 4 billion and 5 billion box office marks. It also became the second (and fastest) film to surpass US$500 million and the first film to gross more than US$700 million at the Chinese box office mark. At a total domestic gross of CNY 5.43 billion (USD$819.3 million),[7] it is currently the 2nd highest-grossing film of all time in a single market, having exceeded North America's totals from Avatar ($760 million), Titanic ($659 million) and Jurassic World ($652 million).[8][9][10] The film is currently the 62th all-time highest-grossing film worldwide at US$819.3 million, making it fifth highest grossing film of 2017 [11][12] and is the first and only non-Hollywood film ever to be included in the list of 100 all-time highest-grossing films worldwide.[13][14]
A sequel, titled Wolf Warriors 3 (战狼3), has been confirmed by Wu Jing.[15]
Plot
After the events of Wolf Warriors, Leng Feng and members of his special-ops team brings his comrade's cremains back to his home town and his comrade's family for his funeral, only to see it on the verge of being torn down completely. A real estate company is pulling down comrade's family and his house during the funeral. The boss of the real estate company confronts them with a gun and sneers at them presenting the remains to the family, only for the boss to be kicked to the ground. The boss calls for his henchmen to attack them but they are all swiftly disabled by the team. Police arrive shortly after and ask Leng Feng to put down the gun he confiscated from the boss. The boss gets back up and boasts that he will "make the family wish they were dead" to Feng, enraging him to a point that he kicks the boss in the stomach, sending him crashing onto a police car's windshield, killing him. This results in him being sent to a military prison for two years and being discharged from the Chinese military.
After being released from prison, he leaves for Africa, planning to wander for the rest of his life. He has been carrying a bullet which he found, a clue to his fiancée's kidnapping that happened while she was on a mission, for three years. He and some locals party one day on a beach but they are attacked by rebel forces who are aiming to overthrow the government of the African nation. Shortly after the arrival of the Rebels and mercenaries, a Chinese destroyer arrives to evacuate strictly Chinese civilians caught up in the middle of the civil war, but after overhearing guards talking about needing someone to rescue workers at a factory and an important doctor who knows the vaccination for Lamanla (Dr Chen), Leng Feng volunteers. However, he is on his own as without the Chinese armies higher authorities' permission no other personnel can follow him as they're on foreign grounds. He travels to the hospital, 60 kilometres away from the dock and enters the hospital building just as Dr Chen is killed by the mercenaries, accidentally. With his few dying breaths, Dr Chen tells him to take his daughter, an African girl named Pasha. Together they, alongside a female doctor Rachel Smith, escape the grips of the mercenaries, but with cut-backs. While escaping, he cuts his hand in a pile of Lamanla infected bodies, but he shakes it off and moves on. They continue their journey of saving the Chinese as Leng Feng also goes to save his good friend's mother, who's working in the Hanbound factory.
Upon arriving at the Hanbound factory, Feng is confronted by the security, and the factory's owner's son, Zhou Yifan, a cocky fuerdai who is also an army fanatic.
Cast
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/CELINA_JADE_with_WU_JING_%28Wolf_Warrior_2%29.jpg/250px-CELINA_JADE_with_WU_JING_%28Wolf_Warrior_2%29.jpg)
- Wu Jing[5] as Leng Feng, a loose cannon Chinese soldier who takes on special missions around the world. He protects medical aid workers from local rebels and vicious arms dealers in an unnamed African country.
- Celina Jade[5] as Dr. Rachel Smith, a doctor who assists in Africa.
- Frank Grillo[5] as Big Daddy, head of a group of mercenaries called Dylan Corps.
- Hans Zhang[5] as Zhuo Yifan, a fuerdai and army fan. His father owns a factory in Africa and he is literally the boss.
- Wu Gang as He Jianguo, a retired scout who serves as a security supervisor of a Chinese factory in Africa.
- Yu Nan as Lieutenant Colonel Long Xiaoyun (guest appearance)
- Yu Qian as Qian Bida, a profiteer.
- Ding Haifeng as captain in the People's Liberation Army Navy.
- Shi Zhaoqi as Shi Qingsong
- Chunyu Shanshan as Lin Zhixiong
- Oleg Prudius[16] as Bear, a Dylan Corps mercenary and the heavy machine gunner and muscle of the Dylan Corps mercenaries.
- Heidi Moneymaker as Athena, the sharpshooter and most agile of the Dylan Corps mercenaries.
- Aaron Ly as Ghost, the driver and the most silent of the Dylan Corps mercenaries.
Production
The film was shot on locations in Africa and China between June 2016 and November 2016.[5] For the film's African scenes, it mostly was shot on location in Soweto and Alexandria.[17] The tank battle was filmed in Zhaochuan Ironworks (坤源集团赵川铁厂), Zhaochuan Town of Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou city, in Hebei province.[18]
Release
The film was released in China on 27 July 2017 in MX4D, 4DX, 3D and China Film Giant Screen.[6] An IMAX version was released on 18 August 2017 and has gone out in IMAX 2D.[19]
Reception
Box office
Wolf Warriors 2 became a huge commercial success at the Chinese box office, and also in countries such as Australia and Malaysia where there were reports of sold out tickets.[20][21][22] The film was noted for showing incredible legs at the box office despite being a tent pole movie earning seven times its prequel[23] and five times distributor's initial estimates.[24] It topped the international box office for all major films on two separate occasions – in its first two weekends.[25][26][27][28] Its unprecedented success has been attributed to various reasons such as its patriotic subject, nationalistic themes, and its bona-fide action sequences and stunts that have been said to be a breakthrough for Chinese films. The film was also released during the annual summer "blackout period" in which foreign movies are not released, and it only had to compete with other domestic movies.[29][30] It became the highest-grossing film in China after just twelve days of release, overtaking The Mermaid which held the record for six months. However, the records that the film broke were not just limited to its domestic market. It also became the biggest film released in a single territory in 2017, breaking Beauty and the Beast's record of US$504 million and the biggest summer release of the year in a single territory, ahead of Wonder Woman (US$400 million).[19] As a result, it became the tenth film to earn over US$500 million in a single territory and the sixth film to make over US$600 million, and the third film to pass the US$700 million threshold following Avatar and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[31] It is also the fastest film to reach the CN¥2 billion, CN¥3 billion, CN¥4 billion and CN¥5 billion marks in China, doing so on its eighth, eleventh, seventeenth and twenty-third day respectively and became the first film to earn more than CN¥200 million (est. US$30 million) for twelve consecutive days globally (tied with Star Wars: The Force Awakens[32]). It has so far grossed a total of CN¥5 billion (US$716.5 million), which includes online ticketing fees, or around US$768.5 million dollars with online surcharges[33][34][35][36] and is among the top 100 highest-grossing films of all time, unadjusted for inflation.[37][38] Due to the film's rising popularity and strong holds, analysts believe the film could end up making CN¥5 billion (US$747 million) to CN¥6 billion (US$895 million) at the Chinese box office alone.[19][39][40][41]
It opened in China on Thursday 27 July 2017, across 19,000+ screens, occupying 42% of the nation's total screens and earned CN¥212 million (US$31.4 million) on its opening day. Including previews, the total stood at CN¥313 million (US$46.4 million). After four hours of advanced screenings Thursday evening brought in CN¥100 million ($US14.9 million) in ticket sales, phenomenal word-of-mouth quickly grew and made its way to the social media.[42] This resulted in the film posting an opening of CN¥975 million (US$144.5 million) – or CN¥921 million (US$136.7 million) without online ticketing fees – through Sunday,[43][44] and US$125 million from Friday to Sunday. The latter figure is the biggest three day opening, ahead of The Mermaid which opened to US$122.3 million in the same number of days.[45] This made it the top film released that weekend worldwide, even ahead of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk.[26] As a result of excellent reviews and strong word-of-mouth, the film's Sunday take rose 15% from Saturday's, a rare feat in a country where the biggest films are usually the most front-loaded. Also, its Sunday-Monday drop was just 35% and the screen count rose from 19,000+ to 24,000 (52%).[44]
On Monday, it made CN¥279 million (US$41.5 million), a fall of just 35% from its Sunday take and registered the biggest Monday ever in a single territory ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (US$40.1 million). This pushed the film past the CN¥1 billion threshold with a total of CN¥1.265 billlion (US$187.8 million).[46][47] This was followed by the biggest Tuesday with CN¥282 million (US$42 milliin), also ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (US$37 million)[48][49] and the fifth biggest Wednesday with CN¥278 million (US$41.4 million).[50][51] By Thursday, the film had earned past CN¥2 billion, the fastest film to do so in the least amount of time.[52]
In just ten days, the film grossed CN¥2.73 billion (US$406 million) to become the biggest release of 2017 there, surpassing The Fate of the Furious (CN¥2.6 billion) and the second highest-grossing film ever, behind only The Mermaid (CN¥3.39 billion).[45] The film's demand was so strong that it made more in its second weekend than the first. Earning a total of CN¥1.092 billion (US$162.2 million), an increase of 30% from the previous weekend, it also set a new record for the biggest ever second weekend in a single territory, surpassing the previous record holder Star Wars: The Force Awakens (US$149 million). The 30% weekend-to-weekend hike is among the top ten smallest second weekend drop, and the smallest for a non-Hollywood production. The same weekend it passed the CN¥3 billion threshold with a total of CN¥3.159 billion (US$470.4 million) becoming the second Chinese film to reach the mark after The Mermaid.[53][54][55][56] On 7 August 2017, it became the biggest ever Chinese film released just after twelve days of release. Similarly, The Mermaid overtook Monster Hunt in February 2016 after twelve days.[19] The film began to shed a considerable number of theatres by its third weekend mainly to make room for new releases such as Guilty of Mind, The Adventurers and Legend of the Naga Pearls,[34] resulting in the film falling by 49% earning another CN¥523 million (US$78.5 million), though still maintaining the top spot.[35] Twenty five days after the film's release, it surpassed Avatar to become the second highest-grossing film in a single-territory and is behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It topped the box office charts in China for four consecutive weekends,[57][58] or a record breaking thirty consecutive days. It was eventually overtaken by French film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets on its thirty-first day as the annual summer "blackout period" ceased which allowed foreign films to enter the market. At that time, Valerian played 78,000 times while Wolf Warriors 2 was still screened 32,500 times.[59][60]
Critical response
Wolf Warriors 2 received praise for its patriotic plot, special effects, action sequences and the cast's performances.[61] On Douban, the film scored 7.6 versus the previous film’s 6.8. On Mtime, it’s at 7.5 versus 7.[45][62]
The Hollywood Reporter reads, "The star's charisma is enhanced by his athletic prowess, which makes the hand-to-hand combat particularly arresting, especially a brutal brawl between him and Grillo that provides a fitting climax. The breathless pacing thankfully doesn't allow much time for viewers to ponder the plot holes or worry about character development, although the two-hour running time results in overkill fatigue."[63] Rob Hunter of the Film School Rejects, in his positive review of the film, wrote: "Wolf Warrior 2 still suffers some of the same issues that dogged the first film, but the improvements elsewhere make for a noticeably better and more entertaining action movie. It's a fun movie blending lots of action, some humor, and "feelings" for friends and family, and if the next one improves at this same rate Wolf Warrior 3 is going to be something even more special."[64] In a less enthusiastic review, Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the "blandly generic" film features digital effects that "look fake," but praised its stunts and pointed out "it’s fascinating to see a film so closely mimic big-budget Hollywood war pictures, but from an opposing socio-political perspective."[65]
Sequel
A sequel, Wolf Warriors 3, has been confirmed at the end of the mid-credits scene of Wolf Warriors 2.
Notes and references
- ^ "'Wolf Warrior 2': Film Review".
- ^ "Wolf Warrior 2 (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (6 August 2017). "'Wolf Warriors 2' Chomps $400M+ At Chinese Box Office; Now #2 Movie Ever".
- ^ "内地总票房_电影历史票房_中国票房". www.cbooo.cn.
- ^ a b c d e f g Frater, Patrick (24 November 2016). "Celina Jade Joins Jacky Wu's 'Wolf Warriors 2' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ a b "战狼2". Gewara (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "内地总票房_电影历史票房_中国票房". www.cbooo.cn.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (16 August 2017). "'Wolf' Whistles To $685M; 'Annabelle' Conjures $35M+; 'Spider-Man' Leaps Past $700M WW – International Box Office". Deadline.
- ^ "All Time Domestic Box Office Results". www.boxofficemojo.com.
- ^ "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Wins Third Weekend, Marches Towards $700M".
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/
- ^ "内地总票房_电影历史票房_中国票房". www.cbooo.cn.
- ^ Mendelson, Scott. "Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Cracks 100 All-Time Biggest Grossers List".
- ^ "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". www.boxofficemojo.com.
- ^ "吴京曝"战狼"第三部阵容未定 余男基本确定回归". 网易. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ "Wu Jing is filming the sequel of "Wolf Warriors"".
- ^ 走进《战狼2》取景地南非贫民窟 铁皮屋里充满危险. ifeng (in Chinese). 4 August 2017.
- ^ 揭秘《战狼2》“坦克大战”拍摄地:张家口一铁厂内. 163.com (in Chinese). 3 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d Nancy Tartaglione (8 August 1017). "'Wolf Warriors 2' Now Highest-Grossing Movie Ever In China; Overtakes 'Mermaid'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Wolf Warrior 2: The nationalist action film storming China". BBC News. 4 August 2017.
- ^ Addy (5 August 2017). "Wu Jing is China's Next Big Action Star". jaynestars.com.
- ^ Wu Haiyun (15 August 2017). "How Blockbuster War Movies Capture China's Changing Nationalism". Sixth Tone. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ Jonathan Papish (4 August 2017). "On Screen China: Summer Box Office Reignited By Record-Breaking 'Wolf Warriors 2'". China Film Insider. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Fergus Ryan (19 May 2017). "'Wolf Warrior 2' Producers Sued for Alleged Copyright Breaches". China Film Insider. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Patrick Frater (30 July 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warriors 2' Tops Global Rankings With $127 Million Debut". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b Nancy Tartaglione (1 August 2017). "'Dunkirk' Charts $131.5M Offshore; 'Wolf' Devours China; 'Despicable 3' Tops $822M WW + 'Valerian's French Bread – Intl BO". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=
(help) - ^ Nancy Tartaglione. "China 'Wolf' Howls At $470M; 'Apes' Swings To $148M Offshore; 'Dunkirk' Channels $314M WW – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Patrick Frater (8 August 2017). "'Wolf Warriors II' Takes All Time China Box Office Record". Variety. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Flag-waving Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warriors 2 smashes cinema records". The Guardian. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
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(help) - ^ Abid Rahman (10 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Smashes All-Time Record With $571M Haul". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "DOMESTIC GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Daily Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ Scott Mendelson (9 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Nabs Stunning $570M 13-Day Total". Forbes. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ a b Nancy Tartaglione (12 August 2017). "'Wolf Warrior 2' Crosses $600M In China; No. 6 All-Time Gross In A Single Market". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ a b Nancy Tartaglione (13 August 2017). "'Wolf Warrior 2' Devours $680M+; 'Annabelle' Conjures $35M; 'Spider-Man' Tops $700M WW – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ Scott Mendelson (21 August 2017). "China Box Office For 'Wolf Warrior 2' Now Bigger Than U.S. Domestic Total For 'Avatar'". Forbes. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Scott Mendelson (14 August 2017). "Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Cracks 100 All-Time Biggest Grossers List". Forbes. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "WORLDWIDE GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ Mandy Zou (8 August 2017). "Wolf Warrior 2 beats The Mermaid to become China's biggest ever hit at the box office". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=
(help) - ^ Nancy Tartaglione. "China's 'Wolf' Leads Pack; 'Dunkirk' Channels $314M WW; 'Valerian' Crosses $50M Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ Jonathan Papish (14 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior II' Nears $650M, Enters Top Five All-Time in a Single Territory". China Film Insider. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ a b Jonathan Papish (31 July 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warriors II' Makes Fierce Debut, Threatening to Set New All-Time Record". China Film Insider. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ a b c Nancy Tartaglione. "'Wolf Warriors 2' Chomps $400M+ At Chinese Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "TOP SINGLE DAY GROSSES BY DAY OF THE WEEK". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "TOP SINGLE DAY GROSSES BY DAY OF THE WEEK". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "TOP SINGLE DAY GROSSES BY DAY OF THE WEEK". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "China Box Office tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "TOP WEEKENDS: 2ND – 12TH". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Patrick Frater (6 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warriors II' Earns $161 Million, Becomes Second Biggest Film of All Time". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "SMALLEST SECOND WEEKEND DROPS". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ Patrick Brzeski (21 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Becomes Second-Biggest Single-Market Film Ever After 'Force Awakens'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Patrick Frater (21 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warriors II' Continues Record Run, Extends Total to $769 Million". Variety. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Anita Busch (25 August 2017). "'Valerian' Opens To $9.9M In China To Take No. 1 Away From 'Wolf Warrior 2' – Int'l Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Patrick Brzeski (25 August 2017). "China Box Office: 'Valerian' Catches Slight Break With $9.2M Friday Win". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=
(help) - ^ "Wolf Warrior 2: The nationalist action film storming China". BBC News. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Huang, Zheping. "China's answer to Rambo is about punishing those who offend China—and it's killing it in theaters". Quartz.
- ^ "China Box Office: 'Wolf Warriors 2' Tops Global Rankings With $127 Million Debut". variety.com. 31 July 2017.
- ^ "'Wolf Warrior II' Review: Wu Jing vs Frank Grillo, What's Not to Love?". filmschoolrejects. 27 July 2017.
- ^ "Chinese patriotism on display in generic action of 'Wolf Warrior 2'". latimes.com. 27 July 2017.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Wolf Warrior II at IMDb
- Wolf Warrior II at Rotten Tomatoes
- Wolf Warrior 2 at Douban (in Chinese)
- Wolf Warrior II at Mtime.com (archived) (in Chinese)
- 2017 films
- Chinese films
- Chinese action thriller films
- Chinese sequel films
- Chinese 3D films
- 4D films
- 2017 3D films
- 2010s action films
- 2010s sequel films
- China Film Group Corporation films
- Bona Film Group films
- Films shot in South Africa
- Films shot in Hebei
- Films set in a fictional African country
- Films about military personnel