The biggest surprise box office hit to come out of China this year has joined an elite list of all-time highest-grossing films in a single territory.
“Wolf Warriors 2,” starring Chinese American actress Celina Jade, is now the country’s highest-grossing pic ever, at nearly $650 million as of Monday, and the world’s third highest-grossing in a single territory, after less than 20 days in theaters.
The Wu Jing-directed and featured action film, a follow-up to the 2015 project, is a patriotic one, and follows a skilled Chinese special force officer as he fights a group of mercenaries to protect civilians. Jade, in her introduction to the franchise, plays a doctor, Rachel Smith.
Made on a budget of approximately $30 million, the film has flown past “The Mermaid,” last year’s box office monster that set new moviegoing records in China and which has to date grossed $526 million.
Jade is likely most familiar to American audiences through her role as Shado in the CW’s “Arrow.”
In North America, “Wolf Warriors 2” has grossed $1.9 million since its July 28 release, according to Box Office Mojo.
A third film is reportedly planned.
