Eat well, stay alive.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East
84Standing
9th of 216 in Chinese Cinema
- Out-grossed 87% of Chinese Cinema releases with reported figures ($306M).
- Momentum in the 98th percentile.
- Audience rating 8.9 from 50 votes, the 93rd percentile.
- Cost
- Not on record
- Took
- $306M
Not yet graded
What did you make of it?
The picture
Xu Fu travels to the Middle East to work as a chef in a Chinese restaurant to pay off family debts, where he meets floor manager Ma Junsheng. Their Dragon Restaurant rises to fame, attracting crowds with authentic‑tasting Chinese food. But war breaks out, and local conditions take a drastic turn for the worse. No one can remain unaffected. What lies ahead for them? And how will the Dragon Restaurant hold on amid the war?
- Released
- 8 August 2026
- Runtime
- 2h 21m
- Language
- Mandarin
- Industry
- Chinese Cinema
Top billedAll 21 credits
- Shen TengXu Fu
- Jiang QimingMa Junsheng
- Omar SherifSeif
- Aarif RahmanTony
- Sherif SabryZayd
- Ahmed SalimAli
Made by
- Director
- Wen Muye
- Writer
- Wen Muye, Lang Qunli, Wei Zhong
- Original Music Composer
- Huang Chao
- Director of Photography
- Wang Boxue
Filed under
DramaWar