Trinity Cine Asia has acquired rights to mainland Chinese blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin II” for release in the U.K. and Ireland. The deal was struck with sales agency Distribution Workshop.
Trinity plans an almost immediate release from Feb, 18, 2022, barely two weeks after the film launched in Chinese theaters on Feb. 1, in time for the Lunar New Year holidays. The company plans to have copies of the film in over 25 cities.
In China the film dominated the holiday season and has accumulated $480 million (RMB3.05 billion) to date, making it the world’s top grossing film in 2022.
The new film deploys the same three directors, Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige and Dante Lam, as its October 2021 predecessor “The Battle at Lake Changjin.”
Also known as “Watergate Bridge,” the new film is a further tribute to Chinese heroism during the early part of the Korean War. It sees the 7th Infantry Company of the Chinese voluntary army sent to blow up a critical bridge and prevent the U.S. forces from regrouping at nearby Xingnan Port. Reputed to be China’s most expensive to produce movie, it delivers a series of grueling clashes during the harshest weather conditions.
“It delivers intense action and a more tight-knit plot than the first offering, all set within the confines of the Sumun Bridge,” said Cine-Asia co-founder and director Cedric Behrel.
The film’s cast includes Wu Jing (“Wolf Warrior I & II”), pop star-turned actor Jackson Yee (“Better Days”), Zhu Yawen (“The Captain”), Li Chen (“The Eight Hundred”), Elvis Han (“My People My Country”) and Du Chun (“The Eight Hundred”).