Newly released war film "The Sacrifice," set during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), hit the Chinese cinemas on October 23, grossing more than 300 million yuan ($44.8 million) since its debut.

"We only had four months to make the film. We wanted to demonstrate the sacrifices made by Chinese soldiers during the war, and we were proud to make it," Zhao Ningyu, the movie's scriptwriter, told CGTN.

The movie tells the story of Chinese combat engineers and their attempts to repair a bridge under bombardment by American forces on the Korean Peninsula. It's a strategic part of China's logistical efforts to transport food and ammunition during the war. 

"In the face of bombardment from enemy planes, Chinese anti-aircraft artillery was relatively weak. During the war, the Chinese side had only a handful of anti-aircraft artillery regiments on the battlefield, and they were unevenly distributed north of the 38th Parallel," Zhao said. 

"They couldn't stay with important regiments, nor could they connect with supply lines. They had to fight the enemy on their own. They often faced food, water and ammunition shortages," he added.

Three of China's best film directors: director of "The Eight Hundred" Guan Hu, director of "The Wandering Earth" Guo Fan, and Lu Yang, combined their talent to make "The Sacrifice," a tour-de-force, combining heart-pounding action sequences and heartwarming storytelling. 

"The movie was both shocking and touching. The story of the Chinese People's Volunteers army was fantastic," a moviegoer said.

Over 190,000 Chinese soldiers gave their lives in the Korean War. Many of them not much older than 17 or 18 years old. But they all swore to never retreat in order to protect an ally and their homeland. 

Recently such patriotic movies have been resonating with Chinese moviegoers. Chinese films "Wolf Warriors II" and "The Eight Hundred" made about $800 million and $400 million, respectively at the box office.