Photo: Xinhua
The box office collection of the much-anticipated war-epic film "The Battle at Lake Changjin"rocketed to 1.012 billion ($155.12 million approx.) on Saturday, just three days after its release on Thursday. With a score of 9.5 out of 10 on China's major movie rating platform Maoyan, the 176-minutes movie is proving to be an unsatisfying pleasure for the audiences.
It has broken ten records of Chinese film history including the National Day holiday film single-day box office record, the National Day holiday film opening day screen time record, and opening day box office record for a war movie.
The historic battle took place at Lake Changjin area on the eastern front in the second battle of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Three corps of the 9th Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army(CPVA) had a direct contest with the US Army between November 27 to December 24, 1950. The ill-equipped CPVA wiped out an entire world-class equipped regiment of American troops.
A poster of the Chinese historical film "The Battle at Lake Changjin" in Shanghai, Sept 30, 2021. (Photos: IC)
This epic war is brought to the screen by famous Chinese directors Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam. The cast also brings together A-listers such as China's leading actors and idols Wu Jing, Jackson Yee, Zhu Yawen, Li Chen, Hu Jun and Duan Yihong.
"It was a very fierce battle. CPVA entered Korea in thin cotton clothing and could not keep up with supplies. We paid a great sacrifice and price," Yu Dong, chief producer of the film said.
"The strategic significance of this war is huge. It directly affected the entire War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and laid the foundation for victory. But for a lot of reasons, the story has never been told," Yu pointed out that the film is also educational since the history of the epic battle has been little known.
A poster of the Chinese historical film "My Country, My Parents" in Beijing, Sept 28, 2021.
While "The Battle at Lake Changjin" presents a major historical event for the audience, the movie "My Country, My Parents" released on the same day reflects the changes in Chinese history and the inheritance of the national spirit from the perspective of small characters. According to data of Maoyan, the movie touched 419 million yuan in box office collection.
During the National Day holiday, 13 films are being screened with a wide range of themes from history and war, romance to cartoon fantasy. Eleven of these 13 films are made in China.
