Chinese war epic "The Battle at Lake Changjin" hits North American big screen

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese war epic "The Battle at Lake Changjin" opened Friday in a limited theatrical release in North America.

The film is being released by CMC Pictures with English subtitles in more than 20 selected theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto and a few other cities across North America.

Jointly directed by Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui and Dante Lam, the film is set in the winter of 1950 during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Faced with the harshest conditions of extreme cold, lack of rations and vast difference in weaponry, Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) soldiers forge ahead, fearless and determined in a key campaign at Lake Changjin, or Chosin Reservoir.

"I didn't expect to see the film in the United States. It's a powerful war epic, which can touch the audience," a moviegoer who only gave his surname as Li told Xinhua after the movie Friday afternoon in an AMC theater in Monterey Park, Los Angeles County.

"History tells us a lot and make us cherish peace," he added.

"The Battle at Lake Changjin" is the highest-grossing film worldwide so far this year, having grossed a massive 5.668 billion yuan (886 million U.S. dollars) in the Chinese mainland alone since Sept. 30, according to the box office data compiled by Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.

It's also the second-highest-grossing title of all time at China's box office, trailing only the 2017 Chinese action film "Wolf Warrior 2," which earned 5.69 billion yuan (890 million dollars).