Beat the heat at the movies
2025-07-05 11:20 China Daily Global
The second highest-grossing summer movie is award-winning director Peter Ho-sun Chan's crime film She's Got No Name. Featuring a stellar cast, the movie — which brings together 23 veterans like actress Zhang Ziyi and actor Lei Jiayin — is inspired by a sensational case: A woman, after suffering years of domestic violence, murders her husband in Shanghai in 1945.
In an earlier interview, Chan revealed that he decided to make the film for several reasons: his interest was sparked by reading Jiang Feng's novella Fan An (Reversal of a Verdict), which employs a journalist's perspective to revisit the woman over half a century later; the backdrop of a turbulent era; and his late father's long-held dream of living as a writer in Shanghai.
Due to the controversial responses to the global premiere of She's Got No Name at the 77th Cannes Film Festival last year, Chan spent over six months reediting the film, extending its length to nearly four hours. Since then, the director decided the film would be divided into two parts — with the first part released this summer and the second part yet to confirm a screening date.
Close on the heels of She's Got No Name, in third place is another Hollywood film, How to Train Your Dragon, a live-action remake of the 2010 animated fantasy film.
Other Hollywood blockbusters include the American sports film F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt as a former Formula 1 legend, and the sci-fi action thriller Jurassic World Rebirth. Additionally, fans of comics are highly anticipating DC Universe's new superhero film, Superman.
Aside from these live-action blockbusters, animated movies are also a major draw during the summer, with 14 currently scheduled for release.