Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny (Photo : YouTube)
Will “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny” break once more box-office records for foreign language films in North America or would it flop like "Monster Hunt?"
If the sequel’s trailer, d in December on YouTube, is any indicator, it may not be as successful as the original film shown 16 years ago. The trailer, so far, has only about 90,000 hits.
Producers of the sequel, though, should not expect the same reception for the sequel as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” since historically, few sequels ever surpass the box-office performance of the original. Moreover, despite inflation, it would still be tough breaking not only the $210 gross earnings of the movie when it was shown in 2000.
In its review of the trailer, Rolling Stone described the upcoming movie as “Filled with all the fisticuffs and high-flying swordplay that defined the original,” which it noted was one of the greatest martial arts movies of all time.
Director Yuen Wo-Ping, and stars Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen also are up against the 40 awards given to the original film, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The sequel opens in China on Feb. 19, still within the Spring Festival period when foreign movies are not allowed in China.
Michelle plays again the character of Yu Shu Lien, the 18th century’s most stoic warrior in China. In the sequel, adapted from the final novel “Crane Iron Pentalogy” by Wang Dulu, Yu comes out of retirement to battle a brutal warlord who captures the legendary sword that was the center of the original movie.
In the U.S., the sequel would be show in cinemas on Feb. 26 and on the same date on Netflix network worldwide. Fortunately for the producers, Netflix, the movie streaming giant, opened on the first week of January in 130 countries, bringing to 190 nations the total number where its streaming services are available.
