Nanjing Massacre Film 'Dead To Rights' Tops China's Summer Box Office

A Chinese historical drama depicting the 1937 Nanjing Massacre by Japanese troops has topped China's summer box office, with tourists flocking to the Shanghai set where it was filmed.

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BEIJING — The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Dead To Rights, released on July 25, has grossed more than 2.3 billion yuan (S$411 million) and attracted over 60 million viewers, according to Chinese media.

Directed by Ao Shan and starring Liu Haoran, Wang Chuanjun and Gao Ye, the movie opens in Singapore cinemas on Aug 28.

With its graphic scenes of Japanese soldiers shooting large numbers of Chinese civilians and throwing infants to the ground, the film has raised concerns that it could fuel anti-Japan sentiment among viewers.

Set in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China under the Nationalist government which fell in the 1937 battle and came under Japanese control, the war thriller tells the story of Chinese civilians who took refuge in a photography studio.