Once Upon a Time in the Middle East Holds China’s Top Spot

Sixth Tone Reports Praise, Pushback and an Iraq War Question

Sixth Tone reported that the film had an 8.4 score on Douban and had drawn praise on Chinese social media for its anti-war message. It also reported pushback from viewers who felt misled by the tone, including parents who found the war material unsuitable for children.

The outlet also addressed the obvious historical shadow. Viewers have noted, Sixth Tone reported, that the backdrop resembles the Iraq War, which began in 2003. Wen rejected tying the story to one specific war. Sixth Tone quoted him saying the film is set 20 years ago but was not meant to be limited to one conflict.

That answer is both useful and evasive in the old movie way. A fictional country gives a director room to talk about war as a condition rather than as a case file. It also lets the film borrow recognisable images without naming every real-world charge attached to them.

The Week reported that the movie was filmed in the industrial heritage town of Shitanjing in Shizuishan, Ningxia, for its desert streetscapes. Sixth Tone reported filming in both China and Egypt, with Chinese and Egyptian actors speaking Chinese, Arabic, and English.

China’s Summer Box Office Passed 10 Billion Yuan

CGTN reported via CCTV that China’s 2026 summer box office, including pre-sales, passed 10 billion yuan, or $1.5 billion, by the afternoon of August 16, citing Beacon. In that market, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East was not just a winner but part of a larger summer surge.

CGTN reported that the film took more than 800 million yuan, or $118.6 million, in ticket sales in six days. Sixth Tone, writing earlier on August 14, reported that it had already earned more than 484 million yuan, or $72 million, as of Friday, and that Beacon projected total earnings of 3.5 billion yuan.

Those numbers explain why the industry is watching more than one weekend chart. CGTN reported that more than 20 film-related stocks had posted gains since the beginning of August, citing Securities Times. It also reported that China had added 363 cinemas and 2,215 screens by the end of July.

More screens do not make any one film good. They do make a film like this harder to dismiss as a one-city or one-format phenomenon.

A Summer Hit Built on Food, Debt and Shelter

The most interesting thing in the reporting is not that a Chinese film beat a Hollywood film. That happens. The sharper point is that this particular film did it with a premise built around cooking under pressure.

Sixth Tone reported that Wen said the idea came from thinking about the suffering of children in wartime and from reports about Chinese migrants opening restaurants overseas. The Week reported that the film mixes Chinese cooking techniques with Middle Eastern ingredients.

That combination could have turned sugary fast. The reported response suggests many viewers found something tougher: a movie where the act of feeding people becomes the action. No cape, no battlefield command, no clean victory pose. Just a restaurant owner trying to keep children alive long enough for the next meal.

The Odyssey may have owned the giant screen. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East owned the ordinary one, where a bowl of food can look bigger than an army.

Every factual claim above is drawn from these. The reading of them is ours.