Naval action film ‘Operation Red Sea’ to hit theaters before end of year
In keeping with the trend of the Chinese military becoming more active within the film industry, Operation Red Sea, the highly anticipated military action film co-produced by Bona Film and the PLA Navy, held a press conference on Wednesday to assure audiences that the film will hit theaters before the end of this year.
After action film Operation Mekong became a surprising hit in 2016 with a total box office of 1.18 billion yuan ($179 million), Operation Red Sea, which is directed by Mekong’s Hong Kong director Dante Lam, has captured moviegoers’ attention.
According to an early report on Chinese film website Mtime, Operation Red Sea has an estimated budget of 500 million yuan and aims to be “the first modern naval film in China.” Based on the evacuation of Chinese citizens from Yemen during the 2015 Yemeni Civil War, Operation Red Sea follows a group of Chinese Marines as they protect Chinese hostages from hostile forces.
While patriotic military films have performed poorly due to their “preachy” nature, recent works such as Operation Mekong and Wolf Warrior 2 have been gaining audience favor in China with tense plots and exciting action scenes.