Film on China's 1976 earthquake keeps up strong sales
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A film depicting an earthquake that devastated a Chinese city more than three decades ago has raked in 400 million yuan (US$58.6 million) in the Chinese mainland as of Sunday, the film's distributors announced Monday.
A statement from Huayi Brothers Media Corporation said more than 10 million tickets had been sold since the premiere on July 22.
On the release day, Aftershock took in a record 36.2 million yuan -- the highest ever box office ever for a mainland movie on its opening day.
Aftershock is about a mother's three-decade journey leading to an emotional reunion with the daughter she thought she had lost in the Tangshan earthquake.
The 7.8-magnitude quake hit the northern city on July 28, 1976, killing more than 240,000 people.
Prior to the release, director Feng Xiaogang repeatedly stated that the the film's final box office would reach 500 million yuan, a mark no Chinese movie has ever achieved.
Though commercially successful with war epic Assembly (2007) and period love thriller The Banquet (2006), the prolific 52-year-old director is better known for comedies such as A World Without Thieves (2004) and If You Are the One (2008).
The film, jointly produced by Huayi Brothers, China Film Group and the municipal government of Tangshan, is also the first Chinese movie released in IMAX format.
The film's budget is around 150 million yuan (US$22 million).
