1. Operation Red Sea

The hardcore, violent, R-rated, military blockbuster "Operation Red Sea" may not fit well with celebratory atmosphere of the Spring Festival, but its high quality has ensured it has maintained its momentum far beyond expectations. When the Bona Film Group CEO Yu Dong predicted the film, directed by Dante Lam, would reach the summit during the holiday season, not many people believed it, as it had received the fewest showing arrangements among Spring Festival tentpole films. But after "Monster Hunt 2" failed people's anticipation, "Operation Red Sea" became a dark horse with much assistance from word-of-mouth by audiences and critics, and inched ahead daily on the box office chart and eventually shot to the top. As China's first modern naval film, "Operation Red Sea" is loosely based on the evacuation of the 225 foreign nationals and almost 600 Chinese citizens from Yemen's southern port of Aden during the 2015 Yemeni Civil War. It earned 3.65 billion yuan (US$577.67 million) and became the second highest-grossing film of all time in China, only exceeded by "Wolf Warrior 2", which made US$854.24 million in the market. Most importantly, thanks to the outstanding performances of the monstrous trio ("Operation Red Sea," "Detective Chinatown 2" and "Monster Hunt 2") during the Spring Festival in February, and according to statistics released by Chinese film authorities, China's box office sales hit a record high of 10.14 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in the month. This was the figure that surpassed the previous world record for the highest monthly box office sales in a single market of US$1.39 billion, set by the North American market in July 2011.

Release date in China:Feb. 16, 2018 (Bona Film Group)

China gross:3.65 billion yuan (US$577.67 million)

North America gross:US$1.54 million

Worldwide:US$579.22 million

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