Zhao Linshan’s “Evil Unbound” dominated the China box office over the Sept. 19-21 weekend, opening to RMB881.7 million ($122.5 million), according to Artisan Gateway. The Changying Film Group release has already amassed $170.4 million after just four days, making it one of the strongest debuts of the year. The film is also No. 1 at the global box office, per Comscore.
Set during World War II, “Evil Unbound” dramatizes the atrocities carried out by Japan’s Unit 731, including human experiments involving frostbite, gas exposure, and biological weapons. The film stars Jiang Wu, Wang Zhiwen, and Li Naiwen.
iQIYI Pictures’ “The Shadow’s Edge,” starring Jackie Chan, which led the market the past four weekends, moved to second place with $4.3 million, lifting its cumulative total to $165 million.
Shanghai Animation Film’s fantasy adventure “Nobody” ranked third with $3.3 million for a cume of $227.1 million (RMB 1.64 billion).
“Dead to Rights” from China Film earned $1.2 million, pushing its total to $416.3 million. Directed by Shen Ao and written by Shen Ao, Zhang Ke, and Xu Luyang, and set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and drawing from documented historical events, “Dead to Rights” follows A Chang (Liu Haoran of the “Detective Chinatown” franchise), a postman who assumes the identity of a photo developer to survive the Japanese occupation. Operating from within the walls of a Japanese-controlled studio, he covertly shelters Chinese soldiers and civilians in an act of quiet resistance.
Rounding out the top five, China Media Group’s documentary “Shenzhou 13” grossed $800,000 for a total of $4.8 million. The film, directed by Zhu Yiran, is China’s first ultra-high-definition 8K feature shot entirely in space and chronicles the six-month mission of astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu aboard the Chinese space station.
Overall weekend box office totaled $135.8 million, lifting 2025’s running cume to $5.76 billion, a 20.9% improvement over the same period in 2024.
