Film on Japan's Unit 731 extends momentum through China's National Day holiday

BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's September box office leader "Evil Unbound," a World War II film depicting atrocities committed by Japan's notorious Unit 731, has extended its momentum into October, emerging as the second-highest earner across the eight-day National Day holiday ending Wednesday.

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.

Chen Kaige's war epic "The Volunteers: Peace at Last" led the holiday charts with nearly 451 million yuan, while "Evil Unbound" followed closely with about 345 million yuan. Rounding out the top five were fantasy sequel "A Writer's Odyssey II" (295 million yuan), comedy "Row to Win" (219 million yuan), and crime thriller "Sound of Silence" (175 million yuan). Notably, aside from "Evil Unbound", all other titles were new releases that opened on or after Sept. 30. The film "Evil Unbound" managed to rank second in daily box office charts for six consecutive days starting Oct. 2.

Industry analysts say the long-tail performance of "Evil Unbound," following its release on Sept. 18, offers a rare bright spot in an otherwise subdued holiday box office. The Maoyan Research Institute noted Thursday that while this year's National Day slate was rich in genre variety, it lacked a "breakout tentpole" to galvanize audiences.

"New releases this holiday saw moderate pre-release buzz and word of mouth," the institute said.

Lai Li, a Maoyan analyst, said the Chinese film market is entering a new phase where "content and word of mouth matter more than IP or star power." As viewing habits evolve, he added, "the market is becoming increasingly refined, segmented and rational," with audiences showing a growing preference for high-quality storytelling and diverse voices.

A report from the ticketing platform Beacon also observed that "Evil Unbound" performed especially well in the country's smaller cities, where it drew nearly 60 percent of its box office, far exceeding the market share of other National Day titles.

"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 and has grossed over 3 billion yuan. Both titles have struck a deep emotional chord with Chinese audiences, tapping into enduring themes of historical memory and the pursuit of peace.

Boosted by the holiday frame, China's 2025 total box office has already surpassed the full-year tally of 2024, reaching 43.8 billion yuan as of Thursday.

Beacon analyst Chen Jin expects the momentum to carry into the fourth quarter, fueled by the upcoming release of major titles such as "Zootopia 2" and "Avatar: Fire and Ash," potentially pushing China's annual box office past the symbolic 50-billion-yuan mark.