Cold War 2 <寒戰II> is unstoppable. The Hong Kong crime thriller, which opened simultaneously in Hong Kong and China last Friday, broke Hong Kong’s opening day box office record with a $5.41 million HKD opening, surpassing the $5.22 million HKD opening set by Stephen Chow’s (周星馳) Mermaid <美人魚> earlier this year. That puts Cold War 2 to having the biggest opening day ever for a Chinese-language film in Hong Kong. On Saturday, Cold War 2 grossed a total of $7.51 million HKD in Hong Kong, breaking Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle <功夫> record of having the highest single-day gross in the territory. In Mainland China, Cold War 2 debuted at number one on Friday, taking over 100 million RMB ($115 million HKD) on opening day. It is the highest-grossing debut for a crime film in China and the first crime film to break past 100 million RMB, creating a new record. The film continued to stay strong throughout the weekend in China, and finished at number one in the weekend box office with its 293 million RMB gross from July 8 to 10. Cold War 2 is a continuation of the previous film, which was released in 2012. It sees the return of original cast members Aaron Kwok (郭富城) as Commissioner of Police Sean Lau and Tony Leung Ka-fai (梁家輝) as his rival, Waise Lee, both who are once again at the hands of a mysterious force. Lau’s wife is kidnapped, and in order to rescue her, he must free Lee’s imprisoned son, Joe. The film also stars returning cast members Charlie Young (楊采妮), Eddie Peng (彭于晏), and Aarif Rahman (李治廷), and is joined by new cast members Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) and Janice Man (文詠珊). Directors Longman Leung (梁樂民) and Sunny Luk (陸劍青) have expressed their glee at Cold War 2’s box office success, and thanked the moviegoers and fans for pushing Cold War 2 to become a representative movie in Hong Kong crime cinema. Creds: Sina
