PATRIOTIC films dominated Chinese theaters during the National Day holiday and generated a record 5 billion yuan (US$708 million) of box office revenue.

China saw a total of 135 million moviegoers from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7, with three key movies, namely “My People, My Country,” “The Captain” and “The Climbers,” raking in 2.22 billion yuan, 1.98 billion yuan and 823 million yuan respectively, figures from the China Movie Data Information Network showed Tuesday.

The trio of patriotic films’ box office success indicates audiences’ recognition of the filmmakers’ innovative and enterprising spirit. Also, the feelings of national solidarity displayed in the movies echoes the rising patriotic passion among Chinese people, said Sun Xianghui, director of the China Film Art Research Center.

A seven-part epic anthology by seven directors led by Chen Kaige, “My People, My Country,” has become the top-grossing film in terms of audience satisfaction among all domestic films ever surveyed, according to the China Film Archive.

The film recalls seven important historical moments in China over the past seven decades, ranging from the founding of the PRC in 1949, China’s successful test of its first atomic bomb, the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to the Shenzhou 11 manned mission crew members’ safe returning to Earth in 2016.

“My People, My Country” earned a record 91 points out of a total of 100 in the latest China film audience satisfaction survey covering the three Chinese films that premiered around Oct. 1, the nation’s National Day.

It ranked first in terms of audience satisfaction among all the 267 domestic films covered since the survey was launched in early 2015, according to the archive.

Co-conducted by the China Film Art Research Center, the China film audience satisfaction survey is a film evaluation system independent of the China film box office.

The survey adopts methods of on-site sampling surveys at theaters, online surveys of film industry workers and experts and big data analysis to comprehensively evaluate domestic films from the perspectives of screen depiction, ideological content and film popularity.

“The Captain,” a cinematic portrayal of a miraculous emergency landing of the Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8633 in May 2018, took sixth place on the audience satisfaction chart covering all domestic films ever surveyed by scoring 87.1 points, according to the archive.

“The Climbers,” which dramatizes the real-life expedition of Chinese mountaineers ascending Mount Qomolangma in 1960 and 1975, came in 12th with 85.4 points.

The overall audience satisfaction with Chinese films screened during the just-concluded National Day holiday reached 88.6 points, the highest ever recorded by the survey, which has so far covered 31 seasonal and holiday screening periods, the archive said.

“My People, My Country” was also wooed by overseas Chinese. Hundreds of people attended the premiere of the film held in a theater in Arcadia, Los Angeles, on the night of Sept. 30. Waving Chinese flags in their hands, the audience sang “My People, My Country” together at the start of the movie, the theme song of the film which serves as a clue throughout the film.

“The film showcases the Chinese culture and the spirit of the Chinese nation. Overseas compatriots pay close attentions to the progress of the motherland, and share destinies with the country,” Su Jia, CEO of the movie’s overseas distributor CMC, said.

(SD-Agencies)