China Hit 'Once Upon a Time in the Middle East' Tops $342M
A cook from Shenyang taking a job in Iraq has become one of China's biggest cinema hits of the year.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East had grossed RMB2.29 billion ($342 million) in China after opening on Aug. 11, Variety reported on Oct. 9. That total makes it the third-highest-grossing Chinese film of 2026. It is a long hold, not a fast opening.
The film is directed by Wen Muye. It is his follow-up to Dying to Survive and Nice View, and he wrote the screenplay with Lang Qunli and Zhong Wei. Ning Hao produced the picture, Variety reported in August.
Shen Teng stars as Xu Fu, a cook from the north-eastern Chinese city of Shenyang who accepts the head-chef post at a place called the Dragon Restaurant. Jiang Qiming plays Ma Junsheng, the restaurant's manager. Their working relationship drives much of the story.
The wider ensemble crosses cultures and languages. Omar Sherif plays Seif, a Kurdish Iraqi orphan who becomes Xu Fu's apprentice. Aarif Lee appears as Tony, a Chinese American private serving in the US Army. Sherif Sobhy plays Zaid, a civil servant and shareholder in the restaurant.
Wen said the idea began with a news report and with the real lives of Chinese cooks running restaurants across the Middle East region. That starting point gives the film its unusual setting for a Chinese commercial release. A kitchen becomes the meeting point.
The box office run has been steady. The film held No. 1 at the China box office for six consecutive weekends, Variety reported on Sept. 20. Six weeks at the top is rare in any large market.
Its run may now travel further. The film has landed North American distribution, Screen Daily reported on Sept. 18. No release date outside China has been disclosed in the verified reports.
What makes this stand out is the route it took. Most large Chinese hits stay close to home in story and cast. This one puts a Chinese kitchen crew inside an Iraqi city and lets the comedy and tension come from language, food and daily work.
