The Great Wall (film)

The Great Wall
United States theatrical release poster
Simplified Chinese长城
Traditional Chinese長城
Hanyu PinyinCháng Chéng
Directed byZhang Yimou
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music byRamin Djawadi
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • December 6, 2016 (2016-12-06) (Beijing)
  • December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16) (China)
  • January 25, 2017 (2017-01-25) (Philippines)
  • February 17, 2017 (2017-02-17) (United States)
Running time
103 minutes[3]
Countries
Languages
  • English
  • Mandarin
Budget$150 million[4]
Box office$334.9 million[3]

The Great Wall (simplified Chinese: 长城; traditional Chinese: 長城) is a 2016 monster film directed by Zhang Yimou, with a screenplay by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro and Tony Gilroy, from a story by Max Brooks, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. An American and Chinese co-production starring Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau, the plot centers on two European mercenary warriors (Damon and Pascal) imprisoned by imperial Chinese forces within the Great Wall of China after arriving in search of gunpowder, eventually joining forces with the Chinese to help combat an alien threat. The Great Wall is Zhang's first English-language film.[5]

Principal photography for the film began on March 30, 2015, in Qingdao, China, and it premiered in Beijing on December 6, 2016. It was released by China Film Group in China on December 16, 2016, the United States on February 17, 2017 by Universal Pictures, and in Japan on April 14, 2017 by Toho-Towa. The film, which received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics,[6] grossed $334.9 million worldwide and was considered a box-office bomb for losing up to $75 million.

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Great Wall (2016)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  2. ^ "長城（2016）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "The Great Wall (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Patrick Brzeski (December 15, 2016). "'The Great Wall': Why the Stakes Are Sky-High for Matt Damon's $150M Chinese Epic". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  5. ^ Haar, Kara (February 16, 2017). "'The Great Wall' Premiere: Matt Damon "Jumped" at the Chance to Work With Zhang Yimou". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).