BEIJING, Aug. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese film Dead to Rights has been maintaining its top position on China's weekend box office since its premiere on July 25th. That also made it the No. 1 watched film globally over the just past weekend. According to popular Chinese film industry tracker Maoyan, by Tuesday the film has raked in 1.7 billion Yuan, or about 236.6 million dollars. The film now holds an 8.6 rating on Chinese review platform Douban and has been reviewed or reported by international press like "Variety", Channel News Asia, among others.
The film is set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and follows the life of a group of Chinese civilians who seek refuge in a photography studio. While bidding for survival, they assisted a Japanese military photographer to develop films, only to uncover graphic images of the atrocities. They risked their lives to preserve the evidence.
The film's massive success should, of course, be first attributed to its powerful storytelling and artistic execution. Director Shen Ao has avoided sensationalism, using only minimalistic visuals to convey horror, for example, a knife held to a baby or rivers of bloodshed. In this way, emotional depth and authenticity have been created. The film's layered storytelling and polished production design also present viewers with unraveled technical craftsmanship.
Movie goers are drawn to the cinema for Dead to Rights also because, fundamentally, the movie has done justice to history. Evan Kail, an American who donated a photo album of Japanese war crimes to China, said the film is a "ten out of ten" that keeps history alive, honors the victims and exposes the past against all odds. Remembering the past is not to stir or preserve hatred; rather, it is to remind us to cherish modern peace. Increasing Yasukuni Shrine visits and wartime denial by some Japanese rightists these days are risking Asia's or even the world's stability. By preserving evidence on screen, films like Dead to Rights counter Japan's historical amnesia and expose the truth that must be held and told.
The movie is slated to premiere globally in places like Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, among others. With over 35 million military and civilian casualties combined, China was a vital, but often forgotten, member of the Allies battling Japan during WWII. As both a universal call to peace and a truthful reflection on history, the film Dead to Rights deserves the time and attention of global viewers.
Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-08-06/Why-Chinese-film-Dead-to-Rights-topped-global-weekend-box-office-1FCAH9N09K8/p.html
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
CGTN: Why Chinese film Dead to Rights topped global weekend box office
ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the landmark fourth edition of the international, open-air biennial exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert X, welcomes visitors to experience a stellar line-up of Saudi and international multi-generational artists whose site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations will engage in a powerful dialogue with the awe-inspiring landscapes and layered heritage of AlUla.
As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in Northwest Saudi Arabia, solidifies its position on the global stage as a dynamic, emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region's first public art biennale, and a key highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.
The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 acclaimed artists whose diverse works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials, and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla's distinctive environment, further cementing Desert X AlUla's reputation as a globally significant platform for site-responsive land art.
Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as a cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Curated by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield, and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores 'Space Without Measure.' Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme fosters contemplation of imagination within AlUla's natural settings. The exhibition, set in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as a pre-opening programme for Wadi AlFann, offering a pivotal glimpse into AlUla's plans to create a permanent land art 'Valley of the Arts.'
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will engage with art that deeply converses with AlUla's unique landscapes and rich heritage. These compelling commissions highlight AlUla's dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. This exhibition is part of our broader revitalisation of AlUla as a culturally rich destination to live, work and visit and integral to positioning AlUla in the global dialogue of contemporary art and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann."
Participating artist/artworks are:
- Sara Abdu, A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance
- Mohammad Alfaraj, What was the Question Again?
- Mohammed AlSaleem, The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla (courtesy of Royal Commission for Riyadh City)
- Tarek Atoui, The Water Song
- Bahraini-Danish, Bloom
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Imole Red
- Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid
- Ibrahim El-Salahi, Haraza Tree
- Basmah Felemban, Murmur of Pebbles
- Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
- Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar
For further information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com
Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of all 11 artists and their artworks can be found here.
About AlUla and Arts AlUla
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes was developed from at least the 12th century and has been revitalised as the vibrant hub for visitors and residents.
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance and shaping a future inspired by artists built be artists. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Wadi AlFann, meaning 'Valley of the Arts,' will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiling from 2028 onwards, where era-defining works by artists from around the world will be permanently sited in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-west Saudi Arabia.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Desert X AlUla 2026: monumental land art exhibition opens in the ancient oasis of AlUla
