A spy thriller backed by a Chinese intelligency agency has become one of the biggest box office hits of the Lunar New Year.
Scare Out, directed by Zhang Yimou, who is best known internationally for films such as Raise the Red Lantern and House of the Flying Daggers, was produced under the direct supervision of the Ministry of State Security, which said the film was based on real-life cases.
The film features a tense game of cat and mouse as counter-espionage agents track down a researcher who...
Analysis & Context
A spy thriller backed by a Chinese intelligency agency has become one of the biggest box office hits of the Lunar New Year.
Scare Out, directed by Zhang Yimou, who is best known internationally for films such as Raise the Red Lantern and House of the Flying Daggers, was produced under the direct supervision of the Ministry of State Security, which said the film was based on real-life cases.
The film features a tense game of cat and mouse as counter-espionage agents track down a researcher who... This article provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of current events.
A spy thriller backed by a Chinese intelligency agency has become one of the biggest box office hits of the Lunar New Year.
Scare Out, directed by Zhang Yimou, who is best known internationally for films such as Raise the Red Lantern and House of the Flying Daggers, was produced under the direct supervision of the Ministry of State Security, which said the film was based on real-life cases.
The film features a tense game of cat and mouse as counter-espionage agents track down a researcher who...
AdvertisementEspionageChinaPoliticsChinese state-sponsored spy thriller comes in from the coldA thriller sponsored by the intelligence services made by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou was one of the most popular films over Lunar New YearReading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAlyssa ChenPublished: 8:50pm, 19 Feb 2026Updated: 8:52pm, 19 Feb 2026A spy thriller backed by a Chinese intelligency agency has become one of the biggest box office hits of the Lunar New Year.Scare Out, directed by Zhang Yimou, who is best known internationally for films such as Raise the Red Lantern and House of the Flying Daggers, was produced under the direct supervision of the Ministry of State Security, which said the film was based on real-life cases.The film features a tense game of cat and mouse as counter-espionage agents track down a researcher who leaked information about a stealth fighter to foreign spies, but then discover that there is a mole within their own ranks.AdvertisementThe film has so far taken in 483 million yuan (US$70 million) in the first three days of the Year of the Horse, putting it second behind the motor-racing comedy Pegasus 3, which took in 1.5 billion yuan, according to Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.The film, largely shot in Shenzhen, a tech hub on the border with Hong Kong, was the first movie directly supervised by the Ministry of State Security, which said the script was based on real cases.AdvertisementIn an interview with state broadcaster CCTV, Zhang said national security officers had âshared many behind-the-scenes storiesâ, but turning them into a 100-minute film ârequired a high degree of precision and tight pacingâ.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x
