Chinese war film "The Sacrifice" has notched up over 300 million yuan ($44.8 million) in China's box office as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Chinese ticket tracker Maoyan.
It joined a collection of films and TV series that were released in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteers army entering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to help in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).
The movie got off to a good start on its debut day on Friday, raking over 100 million yuan. It was also rated 9.4 out of 10 on Maoyan.
A screenshot of the box office and rating of the Chinese war film 'The Sacrifice', October 25, 2020. /Maoyan
Before its release, the movie had already been much anticipated as it's co-directed by three renowned filmmakers: Guan Hu, who directed this year's top blockbuster "The Eight Hundred," Guo Fan, whose 2019 sci-fi film "The Wandering Earth" which made the list of top-grossing movies in the history of the Chinese box office, as well as Lu Yang known for Chinese martial arts (wuxia) film "Brotherhood of Blades."
The movie also features all-star casts, including Wu Jing, who directed and starred in the movie "Wolf Warrior 2" – the highest-grossing movie in China, and Zhang Yi, best known for his roles in the movie "Operating Red Sea" and TV series "Soldiers Sortie."
"It's my first time watching a movie about the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, and it's very impressive. It reminds me to cherish peace," an online user commented on China's twitter-like platform Weibo.
Based on the film's early box office and approval ratings, Maoyan predicts the movie might run on to score 1.75 billion yuan.
(Cover: A poster of the Chinese war film "The Sacrifice" is seen inside a shopping mall in Beijing, October 23, 2020. /CFP)