China blockbuster breaks into top 100 grossing films worldwide

Fresh from shattering China’s box- office record, patriotic blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 has claimed another slice of history by becoming the first non-Hollywood film to break into the top 100 all- time grossing movies worldwide.

The fl ag- waving action movie’s plotline of Chinese soldiers saving war- ravaged Africans from Western baddies has resonated in an increasingly confident China, and the film last week became the country’s all- time top earner less than two weeks after its theater release.

The strength of those domestic receipts has now propelled the film onto industry monitor Box Office Mojo’s alltime 100 list, where Wednesday it knocked 1994’s For rest Gump from the No. 100 spot.

Box Office Mojo said Wolf Warrior 2 had grossed $ 682.1 million worldwide, nearly all of it in Chinese cinemas.

But it looked likely to climb still further up the list–latest figures from the official China Movie Data Information Network said Wolf had already raked in 4.75 billion yuan ($ 710 million) in domestic sales as of Wednesday.

That would put it nearly another 10 places higher on Box Office Mojo’s list, in the company of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

With special effects, stunts and explosions worthy of Hol- lywood, Wolf boasts the ominous tagline “whoever off ends China will be hunted down no matter how far away they are.”

It depicts a Chinese former special forces operative’ s fictional foray into an unnamed African war zone to rescue compatriots and downtrodden locals from rebels and bloodthirsty Western mercenaries.

The movie is directed by martial arts expert Wu Jing, who also plays the lead role of Leng Feng, and a cliff - hanger ending sets the stage for a third installment.

Wolf Warrior 2 will have work to do to climb up to the top ranks of the list, which is headed by Avatar ( 2009) at $ 2.7 billion, followed by Titanic ( 1997) and Star Wars: the Force Awakens ( 2015).