Film on Japan's Unit 731 stands out in National Day holiday charts

BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- "Evil Unbound," depicting atrocities committed by Japan's notorious Unit 731, has emerged as one of the standout movies across the eight-day National Day holiday.

According to data from the China Film Administration, the 2025 National Day box office from Oct. 1 to 8 generated nearly 1.84 billion yuan (about 259 million U.S. dollars), down from last year's 2.1 billion yuan over a shorter, seven-day period. "Evil Unbound" ranked second in daily charts for six consecutive days starting Oct. 2.

Chen Kaige's war epic "The Volunteers: Peace at Last" led the holiday charts with 451 million yuan, followed by "Evil Unbound" at around 345 million yuan. Notably, aside from "Evil Unbound," all other titles in the National Day holiday's top five were newly released films that opened on or after Sept. 30, including fantasy sequel "A Writer's Odyssey II," comedy "Row to Win," and crime thriller "Sound of Silence," which raked in around 295 million yuan, 219 million yuan, and 175 million yuan, respectively.

"Evil Unbound" centers on the horrors of Unit 731, a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base established by Japanese aggressors in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, which served as the nerve center for Japanese biological warfare in China and Southeast Asia during WWII. Historical records suggest that between 1940 and 1945, Unit 731 used at least 3,000 people in its human experiments, and more than 300,000 people in China were killed by Japan's biological weapons.

The film's continued success mirrors the strong run of summer hit "Dead to Rights," which focused on the 1937 Nanjing Massacre committed by Japanese aggressors. Both titles have struck a deep emotional chord with Chinese audiences, tapping into enduring themes of historical memory and the pursuit of peace.