The Battle at Lake Changjin Sequel

Wow, this is quick! I just learned that “The Battle at Lake Changjin 2: Water Gate Bridge”, the follow-up to China’s highest grossing film of all time, will debut on February 01, the first day of the lucrative Lunar New Year holidays. 

Jointly directed by the same Chinese filmmakers, Chen Kaige (陈凯哥), Tsui Hark (徐克) and Dante Lam (林超贤), the sequel sees the comeback of the original cast led by actors Wu Jing and Jackson Yee. 

Set during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), the sequel follows the Chinese People's Volunteers soldiers taking on a new task at a crucial bridge named "Water Gate Bridge" on the retreat route of American troops. 

According to the movie producer Yu Dong, this is also based on a true story. 

The Spring Festival is typically China’s biggest box office period of the year and thus, is subject to intense competition. This year, “Lake Changjin 2” is set to go up against ten other hotly anticipated titles. The sequel currently ranks third in popularity based on votes from the “want to watch” metric from the Maoyan database. 

Last year, China raked in a record RMB7.8 billion ($1.2 billion) in ticket sales over the Chinese New Year holidays – and the period marked the first time that the country’s single-day box office exceeded RMB1 billion ($155 million) for five consecutive days.