Chinese war epic ‘The Eight Hundred’ earns nearly $90 million

China; #WarEpic; #TheEightHundred

China, Aug 22 (Canadian-Media): Data from industry tracker Maoyan. Chinese war epic “The Eight Hundred” has earned $88 million as of Saturday, after two days officially in theaters and a week of previews, media reports said.

The Eight Hundred. Image credit: Twitter handle

Although cinemas in China are allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity, since the cinemas were opened after July 20 to encourage social distancing, “The Eight Hundred”  made $18.5 million (RMB128 million) on opening day Friday.

Maoyan predicted that a total total earnings for the film would be approximately $286 million.
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“The film’s release coincides this year with an upsurge of people’s patriotic enthusiasm during the pandemic period,” a commentator wrote on Tencent News. “‘The Eight Hundred’ is the first new film to appear in cinemas this year, so the box office is exploding!”

The film has been responded to positively by the viewers. 

“The Eight Hundred” will soon go up against a number of films set to debut Tuesday, Aug. 25, which marks the Qixi Festival, a sort of Chinese version of Valentine’s Day. These include “Little Women,” a hotly anticipated local rom-com “Love You Forever,” and Chinese love story “Wild Grass.” Friday, Sept. 4, will also see the debut of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.”

Backed by Huayi Brothers, Alibaba Pictures and Tencent Pictures, the film is expected to be released on Aug. 28 in the English-language markets of North America, Australia and New Zealand through CMC Pictures .​