China’s National Day holiday box office surged past 1.2 billion yuan (about 168.5 million U.S. dollars) on Sunday, signaling robust momentum in the country’s film market, according to data from online platforms.
The eight-day holiday, which kicked off on Oct 1, is typically a bustling movie-going season for consumers and a highly competitive arena for the movie theater sector in China.
More than ten new films were released during this year's National Day holiday, covering a variety of themes including war, fantasy, comedy, animation, and suspense.
Currently leading this year's National Day box office is domestic war epic "The Volunteers: Peace at Last", the finale of director Chen Kaige's "The Volunteers" trilogy. The film recreates the intertwined struggles of battlefield combat and tense diplomatic negotiation during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).
A special screening activity of the movie was held in capital city Beijing, with all the leading actors of the movie were present.
"In the finale, the audience may find that it is actually the appearance of team head Lin, captain Yao, and the sacrifices of other comrades such as Sun Xing that promote Li Xiao [Zhang's role in the trilogy] to decide to grow up and fight for peace. They made Li aspire to become a true soldier. Li's determination gradually developed this way," said Zhang Zifeng, whose role was presented in all three movies of the trilogy.
Another Chinese famous actress Song Jia, who played Lin Yueming, a new character in the movie, said she feels very proud to have the chance to participate in the film.
"As an actor, being able to play in such a film, I think this means far more than how I can present my so-called acting skills," Song said.
China's National Day box office surpasses 1.2 bln yuan
