Duo of Chinese movies hit big at summer box office

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The Chinese box office has been ringing merrily so far this summer thanks to two domestically-produced films.

After taking in more than 4.7 billion yuan (702 million US dollars), the screening schedule for the hit action movie "Wolf Warrior 2" has been extended to September 28, which will see the film run in theaters for more than two months.

Action scene from "Wolf Warrior 2" / Photo via Douban.com‍

Hitting theaters on July 27, "Wolf Warrior 2" took only 21 days to become the highest-grossing film of all time in China.

Directed by and starring martial arts expert Wu Jing, it tells the story of a former Chinese Special Forces officer reprising his role as a rescuer and protector of civilians after getting involved in a war in an African country.

The blockbuster is expected to rake in more than 5-billion yuan by the time its theater run ends.

Another film of quite a different kind is also making an impression in Chinese theaters.

Poster of "Twenty Two"

The documentary "Twenty Two", directed by Guo Ke, tells the story of some of China's surviving “comfort women” who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.

The film is named after the number of "comfort women" still alive at the time of filming in 2014.

But with crime thriller "Guilty of Mind" and fantasy film "Legend of the Naga Pearls" released at around the same time, "Twenty Two" has suffered at the box office.

Its somber subject matter and poor publicity campaign has also meant it faces an uphill struggle to make much of a commercial impact.

The "Twenty Two" team say they weren't aiming for a box office hit and that they had their sights on making a comparatively modest 6 million yuan.

But things for the documentary may be starting to look up. Its screening ratio has increased to 9 percent following a public outcry from renowned directors and actors on social media, movie site Mtime.com reported.

The film also posted takings of 10 million yuan on its second day of release, Xinhua said.

Photo via Douban.com

Production of "Twenty Two" took place over five years, during which time investors withdrew from the project fearing losses.

However, actress Zhang Xinyi donated one million yuan to the production enabling the crew to wrap filming on the project.

In addition, 32,099 private individuals contributed another one million yuan in funding to the film's publication.

Guo said he will donate the surplus of the box office to a charity organization dedicated to the welfare of the surviving "comfort women".