The war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin,one of the most expensive films ever made in China,shot to the top of the weeklong National Day holiday box office,promoting the domestic film market to rebound(反彈)after being inactive for more than two months.

With three outstanding directors—Chen Kaige,Hark Tsui and Dante Lam—the 176-minute-long film follows Chinese People’s Volunteers(CPV)who joined the battle,which turned the tide of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea(1950-1953).

With the number of cast and crew reaching an unprecedented scale of more than 12,000,the movie recreates the cruel conflict on the Korean Peninsula(朝鮮半島)amid the extremely cold winter of 1950,when temperatures lowered to the level in 50 years.The movie’s production involved more than 80 visual-effects companies domestically and abroad,with the script being revised 37 times.Breaking over 10 records,the movie has raked in around 2 billion yuan($310 million)since its opening on Sept 30.It accounted for around 75 percent of total holiday income,which had reached 2.67 billion yuan as of Monday,according to the movie information tracker Beacon.The film has also collected millions of reviews and click son several of the country’s most popular social media platforms,including Weibo and Douyin,with most commenters praising the moving tale and saying it stimulates their national pride,making them want to show their respect for the CPV heroes who sacrificed their lives.Some netizens said the film reminds them,amid the current China-US tension,to cherish today’s peaceful life.

Most analysts said the movies’commercial success has lived up to the industry’s estimation,giving cinema operators a sign of revival.“With a lot of details to recreate historical reality,The Battle at Lake Changjin has raised the bar for Chinese war films to a new high level,signaling the progress that the domestic industry has achieved,”said Rao Shuguang,president of the China Film Critics Association.

But compared with the same period in previous years,the shortage of appealing,medium-budget films has reduced the variety of genres(體裁),which will not be good for the long-term development of the Chinese film industry,Rao added.