Beijing - "Dead to Rights," a Chinese film that depicts the Nanjing Massacre perpetrated by Japanese troops in China during World War II, has seen ticket sales surpass 2.2 billion yuan (about 308 million U.S. dollars) during its summer box office run, according to online movie platform data.

This has smashed the record for previous historical films screened during the country's bustling summer movie-going season, which runs from the beginning of June to the end of August each year.

As of Monday, China's total summer box office revenue -- including ticket pre-sales -- had exceeded 8.7 billion yuan, pushing this year's annual box office past the 36-billion-yuan milestone.

Marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, "Dead To Rights" tells the story of a group of Chinese civilians, who sought refuge in a photography studio during the brutal occupation of Nanjing by Japanese invaders, and how they risked their lives to send photographic evidence of the Nanjing Massacre to the outside world.