China's October box office soars nearly 20 pct from last year

Cast members of the film the Battle at Lake Changjin pose for a group photo on the red carpet for the 11th Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's monthly box office total soared nearly 20 percent year on year in October, driven by the big gains of patriotic blockbusters, "The Battle at Lake Changjin" in particular.

The October earnings in China, currently the world's biggest box office market, totaled nearly 7.58 billion yuan (about 1.18 billion U.S. dollars), China Film News Monday reported, citing preliminary official figures.

That is an increase of 19.05 percent from the 6.36 billion yuan seen during the same month last year.

This October was the second-highest-grossing month ever at China's box office, trailing only the same month in pre-pandemic 2019, when approximately 8.32 billion yuan was generated.

Domestic productions contributed more than 90 percent of the monthly revenue, the same as in the previous two years.

"The Battle at Lake Changjin" led the monthly chart, raking in 5.29 billion yuan, followed by the patriotic anthology "My Country, My Parents" with 1.36 billion yuan.

Set during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) and starring Wu Jing and Jackson Yee, the three-hour movie tells the story of Chinese People's Volunteers soldiers fighting bravely in freezing temperatures in a key campaign at Lake Changjin, or Chosin Reservoir.

The story of how the young warriors were willing to risk it all to defend their motherland from the world's best-equipped army, despite their lack of food and warm clothing and amid the bitter coldness, has moved many moviegoers to tears.

The film was helmed by three top directors -- Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui, and Dante Lam.

With its cumulative revenue surging past 5.5 billion yuan on Monday, "The Battle at Lake Changjin" is forecasted to complete its run with up to 5.7 billion yuan, according to a recently upgraded estimation from the e-ticketing platform Maoyan.