- "Water Gate Bridge" focuses on a battle with retreating US forces during the Korean War.
- The movie has grossed over 1.3 billion Chinese yuan ($204.4 billion) since its release on Tuesday.
A movie about the defeat of US troops is topping the charts in
"Water Gate Bridge," also known as "The Battle at Lake Changjin II," opened on Tuesday to gross 667 million Chinese yuan ($105 million) in just one day. The movie has raked in over 1.3 billion Chinese yuan ($204.4 billion) so far this week, according to Maoyan, a Chinese ticketing app.
The film is the sequel to the "Battle at Lake Changjin," which hit the screens just before China's week-long National Day holiday in October and became China's highest-grossing movie ever, taking in $902 million.
"The Battle at Lake Changjin" is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir between US and Chinese troops over November and December of 1950. It tells the story of a group of Chinese soldiers who forced US and allied forces to retreat from what is now China's border with North Korea.
The sequel focuses on a battle with the retreating US forces on a critical bridge.
Comedies usually dominate lunar New Year movie releases, and the rise of a so-called "main melody" film to the top of the charts this year is a new trend, said Zhang Rongdi, an analyst at Dengta, a
The "main melody" genre unique to China refers to patriotic
The record-breaking releases come as Beijing tightens its control over the film industry. Last year, authorities rolled out a five-year plan for its movie industry that includes producing films that show a "trustworthy, lovable, and respectable image of China."