<P> Principal photography began in June 2013 in Massachusetts . It was the first film to have Village Roadshow Pictures co-finance the deal with Sony Pictures since Saving Silverman in 2001 . The film had its world premiere at 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014, and was released worldwide on September 26 2014 . </P> <P> The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visual style, acting, soundtrack and action sequences but criticized its violence and plot . Nonetheless, it became a commercial success with a worldwide gross of over $192 million . A sequel was released on July 20, 2018, with Washington and Fuqua returning . </P> <P> Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a retired Marine and Defense Intelligence Agency operative who after promising his recently deceased wife that he would leave his old life behind lives quietly in Boston, Massachusetts and works at a Home Mart hardware store . McCall befriends many of his co-workers and helps a security guard trainee named Ralph pass his qualification exam . Unable to sleep, McCall spends some late nights reading in a 24 / 7 diner where he befriends Alina (Chloë Grace Moretz), a teenage prostitute for the Russian Mafia; McCall regales Alina with philosophical interpretations of the book he is currently reading, The Old Man and the Sea . </P> <P> One night, Alina is hospitalized following a brutal beating by her pimp, Slavi (David Meunier). Hearing of the beating, McCall visits Alina's hospital room and learns from her friend, Mandi that Slavi was responsible for it . McCall tracks down Slavi at his office and offers to buy Alina's freedom for $9,800 . Slavi refuses, dismissing McCall as old and impotent . Having failed to achieve his goal through negotiation, an unarmed McCall kills Slavi and four of his men with skillful close combat efficiency by using the men's own weapons, various objects in the office, and his bare hands . </P>

What city does the equalizer take place in