Moviegoers' enthusiasm 

On the Maoyan platform, as of Friday, more than 330,000 people had expressed interest in watching the movie The Eight Hundred, which depicts Chinese soldiers defending of a warehouse against the invading Japanese army during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.

Directed by Guan Hu, the critically-acclaimed filmmaker behind the 2015 film Mr. Six, The Eight Hundred is the first Chinese film entirely shot with IMAX cameras.

"This is really exciting, great news!" wrote a Weibo user nicknamed Tangqingmingylsy, after learning news of the film's release date. "Hopefully, the film will give a great boost to the film industry, hard hit by COVID-19."

The increased and continuous supply of new, high-quality films is one of the key measures necessary to encourage people to go to cinemas and revive the film market, said Ming in an article carried by China Film News.

"China's movie market has already started its gradual recovery," Yin said, adding that a recovering film industry will help lift consumer confidence and also promote the development of the catering, retail and tourism sectors.