Mainland blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 unlikely to impress Hong Kong moviegoers, critics say
Patriotic Chinese action film smashed mainland box office records, raking in more than 5 billion yuan in just a month
Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 may not be able to replicate its mainland success when it is released in Hong Kong on Thursday, as its patriotism will not resonate with the city’s viewers, film critics and industry insiders have said.
The US$30 million military-themed action film, directed by martial artist Wu Jing, took the mainland by storm, raking in more than 5 billion yuan (US$765 million) at the domestic box office in just one month. It has also grabbed international headlines by becoming the first non-Hollywood film to make the top 100 all-time highest grossing movies worldwide.
Patriotic Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 packs a Hollywood-style punch at the box office
But it seems the film’s huge success at home did not travel overseas. Almost all – 99.7 per cent – of its box office takings were from the mainland, despite screenings in the US, the UK and other countries, according to database website Box Office Mojo.
“Hong Kong audiences in general could be a bit resistant to the nationalism elements,” Jeffrey Chick, general manger at Harvest Entertainment, a marketing firm specialised in promoting films, said.
The Beijing-based Hongkonger said the film’s huge fanfare was mainly sparked by the latest wave of patriotism on the mainland.