South Korean period film "Assassination" is set to become a box-office success in China, the second largest box office in the world, after being a hit among critics and audiences in its home country.
Only a few days after South Korean President Park Geun-hye attended China's V-Day military parade to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II, "Assassination" has scheduled Chinese screenings starting Sept. 17.
The film premiered on July 22 in South Korea and reached 10 million admissions in just 25 days. The film went on to reach 12.5 million admissions, only the sixth South Korean film in the country's history.
"Assassination" already has an 8.4/10 rating, as well as multiple positive reviews, on Chinese media site douban.com, despite not having officially hit cinemas yet.
The film is set in the 1930s, a time when Korea was under the control of Japan, and Koreans fought against their Japanese invaders. The film depicts when several resistance fighters made their stronghold in Shanghai.
Many who have already seen the film say that the cast transformed the period film into an "idol drama."
"I heard China has many films set in this period. But this is a film about what other countries did during this period, so I trust Chinese audiences will be interested," said the film's director Choi Dong-hun.
The film stars several A-list stars, including Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo.
Jun has a sizable following in China after the success of her film "My Sassy Girl" in 2001 and her TV drama "My Love from the Star" in 2014.
Some critics outside South Korea have criticized "Assassination" for having an overly complicated storyline. However, China and South Korea's shared history, as well as the popularity of the cast in China, is set to make it a success in the Chinese market.