'The Eight Hundred' soars as the summer's biggest hit

As of Monday, the war epic, The Eight Hundred, has grossed more than 1.9 billion yuan ($277 million), propelling it to soar as the biggest blockbuster in China since the country reopened domestic theaters in late July.

But Liang Jing, producer and wife of the film's director, Guan Hu, says the box-office revenue is "just a figure".

"For the major creators, the important thing is that the film has finally come out to be seen by many people," Liang said during a telephone interview with domestic reporters.

She and her husband are now busy shooting Jin Gang Chuan, a new film about the Korean War, in Dandong, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

Liang recalled the film was first written in 2011, and got approval for production in 2013 before it started shooting in 2017.

She revealed that Huayi Brothers, the major investor, was once hesitant about the project, as war-themed films are hard to make commercial balance in China. But the company was persuaded to be on board after being moved by Guan's strong desire to revisit lesser-known history and commemorate the martyrs. 

Following Huayi Brothers, Tencent Pictures, the film arm of internet giant Tencent, was the first to join the about 20 co-financers.

After receiving a copy of the script sent by Liang from Beijing to Shenzhen, Cheng Wu, vice-president of Tencent Group and CEO of Tencent Pictures, was fascinated by the story and read through it in just half a day.

Saying  he was quite touched by the tale, Guan said he believes The Eight Hundred would reach a new high to raise the bar of Chinese war films, both in terms of storytelling and cinematic technique.

The latest figures from IMAX China also shows its Chinese business having been boosted by The Eight Hundred, which is the first commercial Asian film shot entirely using an IMAX digital camera.

As of Sunday, the movie earned more than 100 million yuan and attracted more than 1.9 million moviegoers from its 657 IMAX cinemas, or 97 percent of all its venues across the country.