China Box Office: Chen Kaige’s ‘The Volunteers: Peace at Last’ Leads Weekend Charts
BEIJING – Chen Kaige’s “The Volunteers: Peace at Last,” commemorating the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army’s entry into the Korean War, topped the Chinese box office this weekend with $51.3 million in cumulative earnings. starring Wu Jing and Zhang Ziyi, the film is the third installment in Kaige’s “The Volunteers” trilogy.
The film’s performance comes during China’s National Day holiday week, a traditionally strong period for cinema, though collections were not as robust as in previous years. “The Volunteers: Peace at Last” secured fourth place on the global box office chart, according to Comscore. The weekend’s total nationwide box office reached $99.9 million, pushing China’s year-to-date haul to $6.012 billion – a 19.1% increase compared to the same period last year.
Changying Film Group’s “Evil Unbound,” directed by zhao Linshan, followed in second place with $18.9 million, bringing its three-week total to $248.5 million. the World War II drama centers on Japan’s Unit 731 biological warfare program and placed fifth globally.
“A Writer’s Odyssey 2,” a sequel to Lu Yang’s 2021 hit, debuted in third with $15.5 million. The Huace Pictures film, starring lei Jiayin, Dong Zijian, and Yang mi, continues the meta-narrative of intertwining fiction and reality and has earned $31.3 million as its midweek opening.
“Sound of Silence” (Lian Ray Pictures), directed by Wan Li and starring Tan Jianci, opened in fourth place with $12.6 million,reaching a running total of $14.7 million. The film follows a lawyer from a deaf family taking on a fraud case impacting the hearing-impaired community.
Rounding out the top five was “Row to Win” (PMF Pictures) with $11.7 million, lifting its cumulative earnings to $23.9 million. Directed by Ma Lin and starring Huang Bo, the comedy-drama depicts a coastal family’s struggle and comeback.
