CHINA has selected mega-blockbuster “Wolf Warrior II” as its submission for the best foreign-language film category at the 2018 Oscars.

The film is the most financially successful movie ever to be submitted in the Academy Awards category. Written, directed by and starring Chinese martial artist and multi-hyphenate Wu Jing, “Wolf Warrior II” has earned an astonishing US$851.6 million in China since its release July 27. Only one film has ever earned more from a single market — J.J. Abrams’ “The Force Awakens” (2015) with US$936.6 million in North America. A crowd-pleasing patriotic action flick, “Wolf Warrior II” follows a former Chinese special-forces operative (Wu) as he battles bloodthirsty Western mercenaries to save Chinese civilians who have gotten caught up in an African civil war. American actor Frank Grillo plays the film’s villain, while American-Hong Kongese actress Celina Jade is the female heroine.

China has been nominated in the best foreign-language film category twice — for “Ju Dou” (1990) and “Hero” (2002), both directed by Zhang Yimou — but has yet to bag an Oscar. (SD-Agencies)