Patriotic Chinese documentary ‘Amazing China’ has made about 125m yuan or around US$19.7m at the box office since opening in cinemas on March 2, reports Chinese news portal People.
The 90-minute documentary hit on China's big screen that reviews the country's comprehensive development over the past five years has already become China’s second highest-grossing documentary behind Twenty Two, a feature highlighting the plight of the country's 'comfort women', which earned around US$25m in China last year.
However, Chinese audiences have reacted to the film with mixed feelings. On Chinese movie review website Douban, IMDb’s counterpart in China, the movie currently has a score of 8.5 out of 10. However, the user review and comment sections for this film have been turned off. It has also been added to IMDb, scoring 1.1 out of 10 from 487 users.
In a survey conducted on Douban, 74 percent of respondents said they would not go to the cinema to watch this film, with six percent saying they would go to support it.
All members of the Communist Party of China were required to watch the film, with ticket expenses reimbursed by their companies or institutions.
While many Chinese civilians are unwilling to watch it, Chinese celebrities, including Jackie Chan, have spoken highly of the film. “If you have time I’d suggest you to watch this movie,” Chan said.
Speaking of Amazing China, Chan said English subtitles should be added for promotion abroad.
He also called for using foreign perspectives in shooting films to promote Chinese culture overseas, on the sideline of the ongoing annual sessions in Beijing.
(Source:Jiangsu International Channel)
