China's single-day box office breaks 100 mln yuan mark after 221 days

Poster of "The Eight Hundred" outside a cinema in Shanghai, China, August 21, 2020. /CFP

"The Eight Hundred," the first blockbuster to debut in China since theaters reopened, grossed 134 million yuan (19 million U.S. dollars) on Friday, the first time China's single-day box office has surpassed 100 million yuan since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.

According to Maoyan.com, an online ticket booking platform, as of 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning the film's total revenues exceeded 400 million yuan.

The relics of the warehouse which witness the fierce battle between defending Chinese soldiers and invading Japanese army in 1937 in Shanghai, China. /CFP

"The Eight Hundred" is a war film directed by Chinese director Guan Hu. It is based on a real event known as the "Defense of Sihang Warehouse," which took place in the winter of 1937. It also marked the end of the three-month Battle of Shanghai, during the Chinese war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

A total of 452 Chinese soldiers hid their true strength from the Japanese invaders by claiming they numbered 800. The bravery and sacrifice in their bitter efforts to fend the Japanese invaders made them known as "Eight Hundred Heroes" in across China and beyond.

Crew members attend the premiere of "The Eight Hundred" in Beijing, China, August 14, 2020. /CFP

The film, which cost around 550 million yuan to make, stars Chinese actors Wang Qianyuan, Yao Chen, Zhang Yi and Jiang Wu. It is the first film in Asia to apply IMAX photography from start to finish.

From late August to September, a number of new films are slated to hit big screens, including Disney's blockbuster "Mulan" and Christopher Nolan's latest film "Tenet."