LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese war epic "The Eight Hundred" will hit the big screen in limited theatrical release in North America on Friday, becoming the first major Chinese blockbuster to greet moviegoers as cinemas are reopening in the United States and Canada after months-long closures amid the pandemic.

The acclaimed visionary war film will be released by CMC Pictures with English subtitles in over 90 selected theaters in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Vancouver, Toronto and a few other major cities across the United States and Canada. Major markets including New York and California will be added in the coming weeks pending cinema reopening in those states.

Directed by Guan Hu, whose best-known works include the 2015 film "Mr. Six," the 80-million-U.S.-dollar production based on true stories depicts Chinese soldiers' defense of a warehouse against the invading Japanese army during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned by the enemy, a battalion of around 400 soldiers, dubbed "The Eight Hundred Heroes," held out against numerous waves of Japanese forces for four days and four nights.

"The Eight Hundred," shot entirely with IMAX cameras, is China's first major theatrical release since local cinemas reopened in July.

Box office data compiled by Maoyan, a movie-ticketing and film data platform, showed that the film had grossed a massive 1.45 billion yuan (about 211 million U.S. dollars) after seven days of release, despite local theater capacity limited to 50 percent due to the ongoing pandemic. It has become the first film to make over 1 billion yuan in the world's second-largest box-office market this year.

The film currently boasts a rating of 9.2 points out of 10 on the Maoyan platform and a rating of 7.7 on Douban, a review platform.

"'The Eight Hundred' is ultimately about a nation and its people coming together during a time of unprecedented crisis," said Guan Hu in a press release from CMC Pictures.

"It's a universal story that has a renewed relevance in these current times. I'm thrilled that CMC Pictures is bringing the film to North America's audiences and sharing an inspiring moment in China's history with the rest of the world," he added.