‘World story through Chinese eyes’: war comedy tops 1b yuan, defying box-office slump

Chinese war comedy Once Upon a Time in the Middle East has grossed more than 1 billion yuan (US$148 million) in its first week, bucking a broader slump in domestic box-office sales and sluggish consumer spending. Officially released last Tuesday, the film follows a Chinese cook struggling to survive after being caught up in the outbreak of a US-Middle East military conflict. It had crossed the billion-yuan milestone by the time figures were released just after midnight on Tuesday morning by...