Mainstream domestic films regale movie-goers during Spring Festival holiday

Mainstream domestic films, which had attracted wide attention over the past year, continued to gain momentum during this year's Spring Festival holiday that ended on Sunday.

Many Chinese movie-goers nationwide immersed themselves in a patriotic fervor on Feb. 1, the first day of the Lunar New Year, with the war blockbuster "The Battle at Lake Changjin II."

The critically-acclaimed title is a sequel to the 2021 movie "The Battle at Lake Changjin." The second installment of the film topped the Chinese mainland's box office chart of the week-long holiday, which ran from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, by raking in more than 2.5 billion yuan (397 million U.S. dollars), according to the China Film Administration.

Set during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), "The Battle at Lake Changjin" 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 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 the American troops.

"From trench warfare to head-to-head battles, the movie scenes are mind-blowing," read one comment. "The franchise makes us more appreciative of the good life we are living now," read another.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New year, is a lucrative movie season in China as movie-going has become an increasingly prominent pastime for Chinese people during the holiday in recent years.

The total box office revenue of China's Spring Festival holiday in 2022 surpassed 6 billion yuan, creating the second-best record in Spring Festival movie sales.

Apart from the top-grossing war epic, box office entries such as "Snipers" -- co-produced by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou -- which is also set during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, and "Nice View," depicting an entrepreneurial saga set in the city of Shenzhen, also resonated with the audience.

With their sophisticated techniques and compelling plots, "Nice View" and "Snipers" shine focus on the fate of individuals against a massive historical backdrop and offer ample experience for the future production of such mainstream films, said Liu Haibo, a professor at the Shanghai Film Academy, Shanghai University.

"Nice View" and "Snipers" ranked third and sixth respectively in ticket sales during the holiday, according to the China Film Administration.

This year's Spring Festival holiday also saw genre movies flourish. Top-grossing comedies "Only Fools Rush In" and "Too Cool To Kill," and animation film "Boonie Bears: Back to Earth," enriched the Chinese audience's box office options during the holiday.

"As the holiday box office statistics illustrate, the audience has been more sensible in their film selections this year instead of just following the trend and sticking to one single film," said Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.