Wen Muye’s Once Upon a Time in the Middle East continued its strong run in China over the latest September weekend, earning $11.7 million and taking its cumulative domestic total to approximately $283.7 million. The Chinese anti-war drama is now approaching the $300 million milestone while maintaining its lead over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which collected $5.6 million in China during the same weekend.

The latest Chinese box-office rankings also placed V at $7.5 million, followed by All Wishes Come True! with $4.6 million. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East has remained at the top through a competitive period featuring several major releases, making its continued performance particularly notable against a Hollywood blockbuster on the scale of The Odyssey.

Released in Chinese cinemas on August 11, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East quickly established itself as one of the country’s major domestic releases of the summer. Its strong audience response has helped it maintain momentum several weeks into its theatrical run. The film currently carries an 8.6/10 rating on Douban from more than 432,000 user reviews, according to China.org.cn.

Directed by Wen Muye, the film approaches the war genre through the perspective of civilians rather than soldiers. Shen Teng stars as Xu Fu, a Chinese chef working in a fictional Middle Eastern city when war breaks out. The story follows civilians attempting to survive the conflict, including children affected by the violence, while using food, family and everyday life to reinforce its anti-war perspective.

The production itself has also become part of the film’s story. Although the narrative is set primarily in the Middle East, approximately 95% of the film was shot in China. Around 70% was filmed on a life-size Middle Eastern town set constructed at Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis in Shandong province, according to CGTN. The six-month construction covered approximately 100,000 square metres and included more than 200 buildings.

That scale allowed the production to recreate streets, shops and other elements of its fictional setting within China, combining large physical sets with contemporary filmmaking technology. The approach demonstrates the production capabilities available to Chinese filmmakers while keeping much of the shoot within the country’s borders.

While Once Upon a Time in the Middle East led the Chinese market, The Odyssey continued to perform strongly with $5.6 million for the weekend. The Christopher Nolan epic remains one of Hollywood’s biggest international releases of the year and continues to attract significant audiences in China.

The picture was different in South Korea, where The Odyssey topped the September weekend box office with $5.96 million. Obsession followed with $1.13 million, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned $940,000 and The Journey to Gyeongju collected $360,000.

The South Korean results give The Odyssey another strong showing in a major Asian market. The film faced a powerful domestic competitor in China but emerged as the leading title in South Korea during the same period. Spider-Man: Brand New Day also remained among the country’s leading releases, while The Journey to Gyeongju represented Korean cinema within the top four.

Meanwhile, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is preparing for a wider international rollout. The filmmakers have announced international theatrical releases beginning in September, with dates planned for Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand, followed by Singapore and Japan. Further releases are planned across North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

The latest results from China and South Korea highlight two different but complementary trends in the Asian theatrical market. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is demonstrating the strength of a locally produced Chinese film, while The Odyssey continues to show the international reach of a major Hollywood event film. Together, the two markets reflect a theatrical landscape in which domestic productions and global blockbusters are competing for audiences alongside one another.