"Home Coming" tops National Day holiday presale box office

With its presale box office surpassing 27 million yuan ($3.74 million), the upcoming movie Home Coming has currently topped the presale box office charts for the National Day holiday, which will last from Oct 1 to 7.

Under the helm of director Rao Xiaozhi, the movie starring veteran actor Zhang Yi and idol Wang Junkai follows two unarmed Chinese diplomats delving into a rebel force-controlled area in a war-wrecked African country to lead 125 Chinese citizens safely back to the homeland.

The movie is based on the Chinese embassy's evacuation of more than 30,000 Chinese nationals from turmoil in Libya in 2011.

During a recent premiere held in a downtown Beijing cinema, director Rao said he and the major creators combed through a lot of reports and documents to create the story, which has both thrills and touching moments.

The movie's setting, a fictional African city, was constructed in Shizuishan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, which helped the cast members to get an immersive experience to better translate their roles, according to Rao.

The movie will open across China on Sept 30, widely estimated by industry insiders to possibly become the box office champion of the lucrative National Day week.