Promotional merchandise for the 2025 summer blockbuster season, featuring Dead to Rights Photo: VCG

War-themed movies soar at summer box office in China and has profoundly moved audiences, as events commemorating the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War are gaining momentum.

The movies have also drawn attention from some Japanese media outlets, which seemingly appear uneasy, and dodge the focus about the reaction the films received among Chinese audience.

Among the war-themed movies currently being screened, Dead to Rights - adapted from the atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 committed by Japanese invaders - grossed 785 million yuan in box office earnings, according to Maoyan, China's leading online movie ticketing platform, securing a spot in the top five highest-grossing films of 2025 in China and currently leading this year's summer box office charts, reported CCTV News.

Not only Dead to Rights, several other war movies including Dongji Rescue, and Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witnesses - inspired by real historical events and designed to showcase the resilience and sacrifice of the Chinese people during wartime - are scheduled to be released in China during the summer holiday. 

TBS News and Nikkei Shimbun reported on the July 25 release of Dead to Rights. They both downplayed the Nanjing Massacre, which resulted in the death of 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers, only referring to it as the "Nanjing Incident."

According to its news report on July 26, TBS tried to frame the movie within the so-called long-standing historical dispute over the Nanjing Massacre. "Regarding the Nanjing Incident, the Japanese government cannot deny the killings of non-combatants, while the Chinese side claims that 300,000 people were victimized," TBS claimed. The report warned of rising "anti-Japanese sentiment" following the release of the movie, citing Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai. 

Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai on July 23 issued a notice, claiming that from July to September this summer, China would host a series of commemorative events and activities related to this historical period, including the screening of war films and dramas about resistance against Japanese aggression, military parades, and other programs. "Given these developments, particular caution is warranted regarding the potential escalation of anti-Japanese sentiment," according to the notice.

As of press time, TBS appears to have removed the report. The message "The specified page cannot be found. The page may have been moved or deleted, or the entered URL could be incorrect" is displayed.

In another report on July 25, N-ST News under TBS, made similar remarks. According to the report, some viewers of the film have voiced criticism of Japan. Bi Shusheng, who runs a company in Nanjing, was quoted by N-ST that Japan should confront its past invasions with a correct understanding, but he also emphasizes the importance of exchanges.

Dead to Rights draws its narrative from one of the darkest chapters in modern history: the Nanjing Massacre of 1937. The film follows A Chang (Liu), a local postman who impersonates a photo developer to survive. He works inside a photo studio in Nanjing, secretly documenting atrocities while sheltering Chinese civilians and soldiers within its walls.

The Chinese Embassy in Japan also posted the information of the movie on X on Thursday, but some troubling comments in Japanese language are seen under the post.

One netizen @hondakaoriJP claimed the Nanjing Massacre is "fake." Another @goto191919a claimed "Well, if that's the case, Chinese people shouldn't come to Japan... If you're going to keep bringing up the past, then the Chinese people who are in Japan just go back."

The topic of Nanjing Massacre also appeared in Japanese politics recently.

According to Japanese newspaper Nikkan Sports on Wednesday, Hiroki Hajikano, a newly elected far-right Sanseito Party member in the July 20 Upper House election, tried to deny the existence of Nanjing Massacre on X on June 18. Refuting the false remarks, Japan's Constitutional Democratic Party MP Yoshifu Arita took to X on Wednesday, said that the remarks are NOT ONLY historical revisionism or distortion. "It's sheer, shameful ignorance." Arita said.

The lack of in-depth coverage of some Japanese media and absence of deep reflection of history reveal a deeper discomfort as Japan's far-right factions have long sought to downplay or deny wartime atrocities, according to analysts.

During recent on-the-ground interviews in Japan, the Global Times observed that at the infamous Yasukuni Shrine's Yushukan museum, the Nanjing Massacre is whitewashed as the "Nanjing Incident," while the puppet state of Manchukuo established by Japanese invaders to control Northeast China from 1932 until 1945 is glorified as "the construction of an ideal new nation." 

At the Iida City Peace Memorial Museum, evidence of the notorious bacteriological warfare Unit 731's experimentation on human has been permanently exhibited, yet students in the adjacent study area routinely turn a blind eye to it. Retired history teacher Yoko Kojiya revealed that due to Japanese textbooks' beautification of the war of aggression, most Japanese youth remain not fully aware of historical truths. 

Jun Zhengping, an account affiliated with Chinese People's Liberation Army, noted on Weibo on Thursday in a post about the wide attention the movie Dead to Rights received that "Only by earnestly remembering historical truths, engaging in profound reflection, and offering sincere repentance can we truly resolve hatred and safeguard peace. History serves as both our most instructive textbook and our most potent sobering agent."