China’s Summer Box Office Champion ‘Dead to Rights’ Heads to Oscar

Published:September 26, 2025

Reading Time:1 min read

On September 26, the team behind ‘Dead to Rights’ announced that the film has been submitted as China’s official entry for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards.

On September 26, the team behind Dead to Rights announced that the film has been submitted as China’s official entry for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards.
Starring Liu Haoran, Wang Chuanjun, Gao Ye, and Wang Xiao, the film opened nationwide in China on July 25 and has grossed over ¥3 billion (approx. $420 million) in 61 days, making it the country’s biggest summer box office hit.
Dead to Rights is based on historical events during the Nanjing Massacre, drawing from authentic Japanese military photographs. The story follows civilians who take refuge in a photo studio, only to discover harrowing evidence of war crimes while secretly developing rolls of film for an occupying Japanese military photographer.
Despite strong domestic reception and an IMDb score of 8.1, the film has seen limited exposure abroad. At its peak, it played on only about 250 screens in North America, far fewer than the 3,400-plus for the U.S. thriller Weapons, or even fellow Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2. Still, its per-screen average was notably strong.