The latest film from Zhang Yimou, “Coming Home”, opened in theaters over the weekend and took in a hefty CNY82.4 million at the box office.

Zhang’s newest offering earned CNY30 million on May 16, which also set a new record high for a Zhang movie during the opening day, reported Le Vision Pictures.

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Movie critics have projected that “Coming Home” could rake in between CNY200 million and CNY300 million. If the estimated earnings are reached, Zhang’s movie would mark a record for a Chinese art film in the country.

Zhang’s “Coming Home” is based on the last 30 pages of Yan Geling’s “The Criminal Lu Yanshi”, starring Gong Li and Chen Daoming.

The movie shows how an ex-professor tried but failed to reunite with his wife after transferring from one labor camp to another during the 70s. The man returns home three years later to find that his wife had developed amnesia.

Critics say "Coming Home" also saw Zhang returning home to his artistic roots, as can be gleaned from his execution of the movie's romance-drama plot.

Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication Professor Ying Hong said Zhang Yimou id one filmmaker who can stir the emotions of his audience in an aesthetic way rather than through magnificent scenery.

 Professor Ying said Zhang had clearly moved away from crafting commercial.films and returned to his art in the new movie.

Zhang’s career as a filmmaker reached its peak in the late 80s and early 90s when he focused on real life stories.

In 2002, Zhang filmed his first commercial blockbuster movie "Hero" which earned about CNY250 million, making it the highest grossing movie in China’s history.

TagsZhang Yimou, Coming Home, Hero