'The Battle at Lake Changjin II,' the sequel to China's biggest movie ever, had a hot start at the box office

• "The Battle at Lake Changjin II" opened in Chinese theaters on Tuesday and is already a hit.
• It's the sequel to China's highest-grossing movie of all time, which was released last year.

"The Battle at Lake Changjin II," the sequel to last year's Chinese mega hit, opened in Chinese theaters on Tuesday and is already a hit.

The movie earned more than $105 million (RMB667 million) on its opening day, according to the Chinese ticketing app Maoyan. It kicks off the Chinese New Year week, which is typically a major boon to the Chinese box office.

The first "Battle at Lake Changjin," which debuted last year, became China's highest-grossing movie of all time with $902 million. It was the No. 2 biggest movie of 2021 at the global box office, behind "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

State-run media in China is projecting that the sequel could surpass its predecessor to become China's top movie of all time, according to Variety.

The Chinese box office surpassed the US as the world's biggest last year, thanks in large part to locally produced movies like "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and the dramedy "Hi, Mom," which was the third biggest movie of 2021.

Last year, the China Film Administration rolled out a five-year plan to maintain its theatrical dominance. The plan includes more government oversight of the film industry, more investment in film special effects, and increasing the number of screens from 77,000 to 100,000 by 2025.

It also intends for local films to account for at least 55% of the box office.

China's success has sometimes been at the expense of Hollywood. Marvel movies, which have typically performed well in China, were shut out of the region last year. "No Way Home" was approved, but has yet to land a release date there.

Experts say that some Hollywood releases could continue to hit a brick wall when it comes to the China film market, but the Chinese government won't shut it out entirely.

"China wants to be seen as a global power," Stanley Rosen, a political science professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in Chinese politics and cinema, recently told Insider. "You can't keep out Hollywood movies and call yourself a global film power. But they will be more selective in the future."