Of the 12 films released in the past week – probably the most crowded pre-Spring-Festival rush in Chinese cniema history – “The Big Shot”, a Chinese adaption of the S. Korean film “Veteran” has emerged as the front runner at the box office.

Ryoo Syeung-wan won Best Director at the 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards, one of the country's top film awards, for "Veteran" and was nominated for the Baeksang Arts Awards as well.

When adapting it for his domestic market, director Wu Bai, who is best known for his similarly themed TV series, made many changes in order to make it feel authentically Chinese.

Real life problems such as violence during mandatory relocation, local corruption and abuses of power by officials became part of the plot.

The main character Sun Dasheng, as played by Wang Qianyuan, is a low level police officer who has been struggling to make a living and provide a better life for his child but still stands up to do what's right, even if it will cost him his job - and more.

Films focusing on the lives of normal people have been increasingly popular in China. From “Dying to Survive,” 2018's dark horse of the domestic film market, which grabbed 3.07 billion yuan (450 million U.S. dollars) to “A Cool Fish” which focused on the lives of people struggling to get by in modern China and “Einstein & Einstein”, which is about the growing pains of a teenage girl, social films have become a favorite of Chinese audiences.

Within five days of its release, “The Big Shot” has already garnered 133 million yuan at the box office (19.65 million U.S. dollars).

However, that isn't to say audiences are turning their back on escapism. The animation, “White Snake”, has also won wide acclaim. It is the latest adaptation of a traditional Chinese fairy tale that is perhaps best known to western audiences in the form of Tsui Hark's 1993 wuxia "Green Snake".

“The Legend of the White Snake” tells the story of a white snake that turns into a young woman after 1,000 years of pursuing immortality, and gets married to Xu Xian, a man who saved her in her previous life.

Instead of focusing on the traditional story line, directors Amp Wong and Zhao Ji explored the hidden story of the main characters' romance in their previous life.

The crew were meticulous in recreating the settings, the geographical features, the historical background of the story, as well as the clothes, furniture and architecture of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

“We have a group who focused especially on the winkles of the clothes and the characters' hair in order to make them lively,” said Zhao.

This is also the first domestic animation film co-produced with Warner Bros. Entertainment, who worked with :ight Chaser Animation from the very beginning, according to Zhao. Their suggestions greatly contributed to the animation.

Even though the film has not yet become a commercial success, with only about 30-million-yuan box office (4.43 million U.S. dollars) in its opening weekend, it has won plenty of compliments from the audience. On China's Douban.com rating website, the film has 8.1 out of 10 points, with many saying that it is the best domestic animation film ever produced.

Meanwhile, Transformers spin-off “Bumblebee” is still leading the box office in China for the second week, earning over 700 million yuan (103.4 million U.S. dollars) so far, and “Kill Mobile”, another Chinese adaptation, this time of an Italian movie, has garnered 603 million yuan (89 million U.S. dollars).

“Startups” is a documentary focusing on the experiences of 14 entrepreneurs from the third generation of the Chinese startups, including Smartisan Technology founder Luo Yonghao, Ofo's co-founder Dai Wei and Papitube co-founder Papi. However, it has earned only 2.67 million yuan (400,000 U.S. dollars) and has 6.1 out of 10 points on Douban.com, reflecting a split critical opinion.

Some moviegoers said that they were inspired and encouraged by the documentary, while others complained that the documentary has failed to even explain what is a startup even is.

Head image designing by Liu Shaozhen.