Rumblings from history, 34 years on

Director Feng Xiaogang believes his movie about an earthquake that claimed 240,000 lives 33 years ago will gross a record 500 million yuan ($73 million).

The Tangshan Earthquake (Tangshan Da Dizhen), Feng's ongoing project, focuses on several survivors' lives in the 30 years following the disaster that struck the sleeping city on a 1976 night.

The most profitable film in China, so far, is Transformers II, with takings of more than 400 million yuan. Feng's last film If You are the One (Feicheng Wurao) raked in 350 million yuan, topping the local box office last year.