LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese war epic "The Battle at Lake Changjin II" opened Friday in a limited theatrical release in North America.
The film, a sequel to the 2021 box office hit "The Battle at Lake Changjin," is being released by CMC Pictures with English subtitles in more than 25 selected theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Dallas, Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and a few other cities across North America.
Set during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), "The Battle at Lake Changjin," jointly directed by Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui and Dante Lam, tells the story of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) fighting bravely in freezing weather in a vital campaign at Lake Changjin, also known as Chosin Reservoir. The sequel (of which the Chinese title literally translates to "Watergate Bridge") sees actors Wu Jing and Jackson Yee reprise the leading roles. It follows CPV soldiers of the same company as they take on a new task. And this time, their battlefield is a crucial bridge on the retreat route of American troops.
"The Battle at Lake Changjin II" has grossed 3.17 billion yuan (about 498.9 million U.S. dollars) to date since its release on Feb. 1, or the Spring Festival, according to the box office data compiled by Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform. The week-long Spring Festival holiday is usually a lucrative moviegoing period in China.
In addition to a whopping 5.77 billion yuan from the first film, the two "Changjin" films have earned a massive 8.94 billion yuan so far. The achievement made the films China's top-grossing film series ever, replacing the "Detective Chinatown" franchise. ■