Epic film "White Deer Plain" finally opened in Chinese mainland cinemas over the weekend.

The film tells the story of two feuding families and their fierce struggle for land ownership during the first half of the 20th century.

Adapted from Chen Zhongshi's novel of the same name, "White Deer Plain" has caused heated discussions here in China.

Despite being one of the most anticipated domestic films of the year, many fans of the book argued it couldn't be adapted for the screen because there are too many characters.

Director Wang Quan'an's film was originally a lengthy 220 minutes but has been cut down to just 156 minutes as it hits screens.

"White Deer Plain" didn't rival the opening weekends of some of the Hollywood blockbusters that have been showing in mainland cinemas.

But it opened strongly taking 21 million yuan (US$3.3 million) even though many cinemas in second and third-tier cities haven't screened it yet.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)