'Dead to Rights' stuns global box office, moves viewers to tears

"The sunlight felt warmer as I left the theater. Nanjing looked more beautiful than ever, and my eyes were still wet with tears."

That's how one viewer described the haunting impact of "Dead to Rights," the historical film that topped the global box office on August 1.

According to Dengta Pro, the data analysis arm of China's leading film-ticketing platform Taopiaopiao, the film garnered over 1.7 billion yuan (approximately $234 million) cumulatively at the global weekend box office as of 6:32 p.m. Beijing Time on August 5.

Set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, one of the darkest chapters of World War II, during which invading Japanese troops brutally killed and assaulted tens of thousands of Chinese civilians, the film centers on a group of survivors who seek refuge in a photo studio. While developing film rolls for Japanese soldiers, the civilians uncover graphic images of wartime atrocities and risk their lives to preserve the evidence.

Director Shen Ao explained that the creative team's core intention was to demonstrate how ordinary Chinese people, through small but courageous acts, helped reveal the truth to the world.

"In an era of scarce information, a single photograph often served as a powerful signal," Shen told China Media Group (CMG). "The film aims to convey the importance of discerning truth from falsehood and distinguishing friend from foe. The word 'friend' is deliberately repeated throughout the film to expose the hypocrisy and deception of the Japanese military."

Even in today's time of peace, Shen encourages viewers to clearly differentiate right from wrong, good from evil.

Viewers have responded with deep emotion. "The heavy historical scenes and the price paid to protect truth and dignity serve as a weighty cornerstone, reminding us of the pain this land has endured. The final contrast between wartime Nanjing and present-day Nanjing, black-and-white versus color, decay versus thriving, brought tears to my eyes," wrote one netizen, Jiuniangxiongzi.

Another viewer who had studied in Nanjing wrote: "What moved me to tears were the before-and-after pictures shown during the closing scene. Seeing familiar landmarks presented in such a manner truly stirred my emotions."

The story also draws connections to real-life events. In 2022, Evan Kail, an American, discovered a WWII photo album containing rare images of Japanese atrocities in China. Despite facing threats, he donated the album to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. His act earned him widespread admiration online, with many Chinese netizens declaring, "Now you have 1.4 billion friends in China."

"I felt a deep connection with this movie because of the plot and my own experience," Kail told CMG. "Keeping history alive is so important. Protect history, protect photography, and broadcast it to the world, so we can learn from it and shine a light on past evils to prevent them from happening again."

"Dead to Rights" has already opened in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and is scheduled for release in the Hong Kong SAR later this August. International premieres are planned for Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Malaysia, and Singapore.