Distributor Trinity CineAsia has acquired Donnie Yen-starring action film “Raging Fire” from Emperor Motion Pictures for the U.K. and Ireland.
The film debuted at the top of the box office last weekend in China, where it grossed $37.2 million in the three-day period, and led sales since, grossing $56.8 million in its opening week.
It’s the last film from the legendary Hong Kong writer, director and producer Benny Chan, who died last summer. He was beloved for his action titles like “The White Storm,” “Call of Heroes,” and Jackie Chan pictures like “New Police Story.”
“Raging Fire” reunites Donnie Yen (“‘Mulan,” “Ip Man” franchise, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) with his co-star Nicholas Tse (“New Police Story”) after past collaborations on 2006’s “Dragon Tiger Gate” and 2009’s “Bodyguards and Assassins.” It features Yen’s fight choreography.
“It is with tremendous anticipation and profound sadness we are releasing Benny Chan’s final picture, Raging Fire,” said Trinity CineAsia director Cedric Behrel. “Benny Chan has been a staple of the Cine Asia collection and we will be marking his prolific and outstanding career in remembrance when we release ‘Raging Fire,’ which… [lit up] the Chinese box office last weekend.”
The film will open in North American cinemas on Aug. 13, distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment, after screening as the Centerpiece film selection of the New York Asian Film Festival just before on Aug. 9. In Hong Kong, it will hit screens on Aug. 19. Release details for the U.K. and Ireland are forthcoming.
In the film, the police encounter a group of masked thugs during a raid to arrest a drug lord. In a violent act of sabotage, the gang steals the drugs and murders the police officers on the scene. Arriving late, Inspector Cheung Shung-bong (Yen) is devastated to see the brutal aftermath, discovering the cop killers are led by Ngo (Tse), his former protégé, once a rising star in the police force who has been driven to a life of crime and spurred on by a terrible grudge.
“Raging Fire” is produced by Emperor Film Production, Tencent Pictures and Super Bullet Pictures.