Two domestic Chinese war movies for upcoming Army’s Day are hits at the box office, a rarely-seen phenomenon on the Chinese film market, which seldom gives a big thumb up for domestic films, let alone serious dramas.

“The Founding of An Army,” which debuted on July 27, has received more than 200 million yuan in box office sales. Many praised the film about the founding of the People’s Liberation Army in 1927 which is also dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the founding of PLA.

While it received lots of criticism prior to its debut for using too many young actors, the summer blockbuster’s grand war scenes won back their hearts.

Meanwhile, another domestic film, “Wolf Warriors II,” featuring a retired Chinese special operations soldier, won even more love at the box office. Debuting on the same day, it has received some 900 million yuan to date.

Apart from the intense combat scenes featuring actor and director Wu Jing, the film’s evacuation mission of Chinese nationals in an unidentified African nation arose much empathy. Many said they were moved to tears and felt very proud when Chinese military vessels arrived at the harbor to pick up Chinese nationals.

Dubbed as “the first Chinese blockbuster,” the film “Wolf Warriors II” is currently rated 7.5 out of 10 on Chinese media review site Douban.com.