China's summer box office revenue has exceeded 10 billion yuan (approximately $1.4 billion) as of Monday, with domestically produced films leading the season's top earners.

According to ticketing platforms Maoyan and Beacon, domestic films currently hold four of the top five spots.

Leading the charge is "Dead To Rights," a film about the Nanjing Massacre during World War II, which has grossed 2.6 billion yuan since its July 25 release. It is the only summer release to surpass the 2-billion-yuan mark so far, and now ranks as the third-highest grossing film of the year in China.

Drawing on verified photographic evidence of Japanese wartime atrocities during the Nanjing Massacre, "Dead To Rights" tells the story of a group of Chinese civilians who shelter in a photography studio during the brutal Japanese occupation of Nanjing in 1937.

In a desperate fight for survival, they are forced to help a Japanese military photographer by developing film, only to discover that the negatives contain incriminating evidence of atrocities committed by Japanese forces throughout the city. Determined to reveal the truth, they secretly keep the negatives and risk their lives to smuggle them to the outside world.

The film has received a rating of 8.7 out of 10 on review platform Douban and has garnered widespread critical acclaim. Director Feng Xiaoning has called it "a new high point for Chinese cinema," while audiences have described screenings as harrowing yet deeply moving. "The simplicity and restraint of the storytelling make every scene piercingly poignant," one popular comment on Douban states.

This summer's lineup has been influenced by the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In addition to "Dead To Rights," themed releases include the historical drama "Dongji Rescue" and the documentary "Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness."

These films tell stories through ordinary people who represent the broader Chinese experience," said Yin Hong, vice chairman of the China Film Association and a Tsinghua University professor. "Through their fates, their suffering, their struggles, and their cries of defiance, the films both denounce atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre and highlight the moral strength and resilience of everyday Chinese people.

Animation has also become a breakout category. "Nobody," a spinoff from the acclaimed "Yao-Chinese Folktales" animation series, ranks second on the summer chart, earning more than one billion yuan since its August 2 release. It has become the highest-grossing two-dimensional animated film ever released in China.

"'Nobody' is a genuine surprise, expanding the space for Chinese animation," Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, said in an interview with Xinhua. "When I watched it in the theater, the kids around me were laughing uncontrollably, stomping their feet with joy... It clearly has room for further revenue growth."

Other strong performers include "The Lychee Road," a bittersweet drama set during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that has grossed over 670 million yuan, and "The Legend of Hei 2," the sequel to a 2019 animated hit now nearing 450 million yuan. Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth" is the top-ranked imported film, currently in fourth place with more than 560 million yuan earned so far.

China's summer moviegoing season runs from June 1 to August 31 and is traditionally one of the country's most profitable film periods. Analysts note that local hits have revived what started as a slow season. "The first half of the summer was relatively flat, with imported films outperforming locals," according to Maoyan analyst Lai Li. "But as 'The Lychee Road' and 'Dead To Rights' were released, daily box office numbers rose sharply. As of Sunday, China's box office has recorded more than 30 consecutive days of daily grosses over 100 million yuan."

Beacon analyst Chen Jin noted that this summer has seen more well-reviewed titles than previous years, with several scoring above 8 out of 10 on Douban. Among them, crime action film "The Shadow's Edge," released on August 16, is expected to surpass one billion yuan.

With just under two weeks remaining in the season, Chen said the total is on track to surpass last year's summer haul of 11.6 billion yuan, which would keep the industry on pace for an annual gross of 50 billion yuan.