Entertainment

The Sci-Fi Sequel That Ended a $1B Franchise Hits HBO Max This Month

Published

on

Hollywood has effectively milked the Chinese theatrical market for all that it was worth; audiences in the Middle Kingdom mainly watch local movies these days. Hollywood movies can still break through on occasion, but this is getting rarer by the year. There was a solid, decade-long period, however, during which American films would often gross more in China than in North America. Warcraft, for instance, made more than $225 million in China alone; the film’s total global haul stood at around $430 million. Furious 7, the highest-grossing installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, made nearly $400 million in China. The one movie that benefited greatly from a thriving Chinese market was Guillermo del Toro‘s first big-budget feature, Pacific Rim.

The film barely crawled past the $100 million mark domestically, but it was able to generate $111 million in the Middle Kingdom. In fact, its strong performance in China was what compelled Legendary Pictures to push ahead with a sequel. However, the production outfit switched distribution deals between the two movies, moving from Warner Bros. for the first film to Universal for Pacific Rim Uprising. Del Toro chose not to return for the sequel, even though he had dossiers of data on the world he’d created. The directorial duties were handed over, instead, to Steven S. DeKnight, who was a key creative force behind the popular television series Spartacus and Daredevil.

Advertisement



















































Advertisement
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

Advertisement

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

Advertisement

01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





Advertisement

02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





Advertisement

03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





Advertisement

04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





Advertisement

05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





Advertisement

06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





Advertisement

07

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





Advertisement

08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





Advertisement

Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

Advertisement


The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

Advertisement
  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
  • You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
  • You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
  • The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.


The Wasteland

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

Advertisement
  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
  • You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
  • You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
  • In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.


Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

Advertisement
  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
  • In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
  • You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
  • In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.


Arrakis

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Advertisement
  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.


A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Advertisement
  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
  • You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

Advertisement

Here’s When You Can Watch ‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’ on HBO Max

Pacific Rim Uprising featured an all-new cast that included John Boyega, Cailee Spaeny, Scott Eastwood, and Adria Arjona. The movie also featured Chinese actors Jing Tian and Zhang Jin. The move made sense, and the sequel managed to gross $100 million in China. But it underperformed virtually everywhere else, grossing just $60 million domestically and around $291 million worldwide against a reported budget of more than $150 million. The movie now holds a 42% score on the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Pacific Rim: Uprising won’t win any points for subtlety or originality, but it delivers enough of the rock ’em-sock ’em robots-vs.-kaiju thrills that fans of the original will be looking for.” The movie will be made available to stream domestically on HBO Max from July 17. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.


Advertisement


Release Date
Advertisement

March 23, 2018

Runtime

111 minutes

Advertisement

Director

Steven S. DeKnight

Writers
Advertisement

Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin, Travis Beacham

Producers

Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Thomas Tull, Femi Oguns

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Advertisement

Source link

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Trending

Exit mobile version