<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $150--176 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $281.4 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Pacific Rim Uprising is a 2018 American science fiction film directed by Steven S. DeKnight (in his feature - film directorial debut) and written by DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin . It is the sequel to the 2013 film Pacific Rim, with Guillermo del Toro, the director of the original, serving as a producer . The sequel stars John Boyega (also making his producer debut), as well as Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Jing Tian, Adria Arjona, and Zhang Jin, with Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman returning from the original film . Set in the year 2035, the plot follows humanity again fighting Kaiju, giant monsters set on destroying the world . </P> <P> Principal photography began in November 2016 in Australia . The film was released in the United States on March 23, 2018, by Universal Pictures, in 2D, Real D 3D, IMAX 3D, and IMAX, and has grossed $281 million worldwide, making it the ninth highest - grossing film of 2018 . It received mixed reviews from critics; with some calling the film inferior to del Toro's first film and a "tedious watch", criticizing the script, humor and direction, and others praising it as "fun, goofy entertainment", while praising the visual effects and performances of Boyega and Spaeny . </P>

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