Chinese war movie Sacrifice had an incredible debut weekend, as it raked in about $11 million. The film, which is about the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea; made a whopping sum of $11 million dollars on opening day.
Sacrifice is a film commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteer (CPV) Army’s participation in the War. Due to its controversial nature, the film has ignited moviegoers’ anticipation across China
This puts it in position to set another box-office record following the success of blockbuster Chinese war film The Eight Hundred.
Sacrifice is about the last battle between the CPV Army and the US-led “UN forces” before the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953; the Battle of Kumsong, which marked an absolute victory by the CPV against US and South Korean forces.
The story is not about the main battle but narrows its focus to a bridge that the CPV forces must protect to prevent Chinese forces on the frontline from becoming trapped and get annihilated by the enemy.
Sacrifice is not only the name of the film; it is also the main message that the film’s three directors wanted to convey.
The production team of the film is made up of China’s top directors and actors; including Guan Hu, who directed the hit war film The Eight Hundred, which grossed $460 million worldwide in 2020; Guo Fan, who filmed The Wandering Earth, the third highest-grossing film in China; and Wu Jing, the lead actor of Wolf Warrior 2, the highest-grossing film in China.
After a screening in Beijing on Wednesday, Guan told media; “My mother is also a veteran of the war who was sent to Korea in 1952. That was when the war at its fiercest stage. So I also felt it my own responsibility to make this film. I wanted to use a modern narrative to tell the Chinese people today how we won that war 70 years ago.”
First audiences appear to have shown their critical approval of the film. Early viewer feedback via cinema ticketing agency Maoyan gives Sacrifice an excellent score of 9.4 out of 10. Rival ticketing agency Taopiaopiao viewers scored it a notch higher at 9.5. The more thoughtful cinephile site Douban has not yet given it a score.
Taken together, the film’s early box office and approval ratings allowed Maoyan to forecast that Sacrifice could run on to score RMB2.5 billion or $373 million. Since Sacrifice is already off to a great start with $11 million, this forecast would make it one of the top-grossing films anywhere in the world this year.
