China raked in a total of 404 million yuan ($59 million) at the box office last week, according to the Chinese ticket tracker Maoyan. Director Peter Ho-sun Chan's sports film "Leap" got off to a good start after its long-delayed debut. It raked in over 168 million yuan ($24.6 million) from September 25 to 27, leading the weekly box office.

Chinese war epic "The Eight Hundred" still dominates the domestic market, earning 137 million yuan last week. Since the premiere on August 21, its total box office revenue has crossed 3 billion yuan mark, becoming one of the top 10 highest-grossing films in China.

Disney's "Mulan" and Warner Bro.'s "Tenet" raked up more than 25 million yuan, falling to the third and fourth place, respectively.

'Leap': The spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team

The movie recounts the stories of the Chinese national women's volleyball team over the last 40 years via cinematic depiction of the team's struggles and efforts to win glory for the country. 

It's not simply a sports film. As director Chan said, the essence of the movie is the spirit of China's National Women's Volleyball Team. Their tenacious fight and never-give-up spirit have inspired numerous Chinese people for decades. It is also that particular spirit that supported the crew throughout the film making process and the long delay caused by the coronavirus, according to Chan.

The movie has so far received rave reviews with the rating on Maoyan reaching 9.2 points out of 10. 

A-list actress Gong Li played the role of Lang Ping – the most iconic volleyball player in China. Nicknamed "Iron Hammer" for her powerful spikes in her previous volleyball games, Lang is now the head coach of the national women's volleyball team.

Read more: China women's volleyball team coach Lang Ping: Just focus on your own way

The film has also been released in around 80 movie theaters in cities across the U.S., including Boston, Chicago, Denver and Houston since last Friday.

Golden Week holiday sparks fierce competition

The National Day holiday, also known as the Golden Week holiday, is typically one of the busiest movie-going weeks in China. It also marks wartime to compete for moviegoers during the week. 

With movie theaters in China lifting the cap on the seating limit from 50 to 75 percent of the capacity from last Friday, the country is expected to see further recovery of the box office market during the eight-day holiday amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

Together with "Leap," there will be seven new movies joining the game: Chinese action movie "Vanguard" starring Jackie Chan, animated film "Legend of Deification" and "Kung Fu Mulan," Chinese comedy feature "My People, My Homeland," documentary "The Grand Parade," director Peter Chan's another movie "Coffee or Tea?" as well as drama movie "Let Life Be Beautiful" produced by Chinese online video platform iQIYI.

These movies have already started ticket pre-sales ahead of the holiday from September 22. Data on Maoyan shows that "Legend of Deification," "My People, My Homeland" and "Vanguard" are currently the top three most sought-after ones.

As of Tuesday morning, "Legend of Deification" ranked first with 77 million yuan. Created by the same studio behind the 2019 blockbuster "Nezha," it tells the story of the Chinese mythological figure Jiang Ziya. 

(Cover image designed by Pan Yufei)