BEIJING - War epic film "The Eight Hundred" continued to smash records since its release in China on Aug 21, with the total box office revenue hitting a new high of $260 million.

As of 11:30 am Sunday the film grossed more than 49 million yuan, bringing its total box office to 1.8 billion yuan (about $262 million), data compiled by Maoyan, a movie-ticketing and film data platform, showed.

It is the first movie to make over 1 billion yuan in the world's second-largest box-office market this year.

Directed by Guan Hu, "The Eight Hundred" depicts Chinese soldiers' defense of a warehouse against the invading Japanese army during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.

The film was entirely shot using IMAX cameras and it is the first major Chinese movie to hit theaters since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Movie theaters in China started to reopen on July 20 following months-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 epidemic.