"Chinese Doctors," a cinematic portrayal of China's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, saw its cumulative revenue hit 1 billion yuan (about $154 million) on July 21, becoming the eighth film this year to achieve the milestone at China's box office.

Box office tracker Maoyan expects the tear-jerker to complete its run with earnings of more than 1.56 billion yuan.

A film based on real-life events in the country's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, "Chinese Doctors" continued its dominance on China's daily box office chart since its release on July 9.

Helmed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, the same director of the 2019 blockbuster "The Captain," the film sees Zhang Hanyu and Yuan Quan reprise the leading roles.

"Chinese Doctors" spotlights dedicated health professionals racing against the clock to save lives during the coronavirus outbreak.

The patriotic movie's robust ticket sales growth comes as the summer box office starts to heat up in China.

Later this month, "White Snake 2: The Tribulation of Green Snake," a sequel to Light Chaser Animation's hit film on the legend of the White Snake, is slated to lock horns with animated sci-fi "Rainbow Sea Fly High" from the makers of "Ne Zha," China's top-grossing animated film to date, according to film data platforms.

Summer is usually deemed a lucrative movie season in China, and the yearly top earners of both 2019 and 2017 at China's box office were both released in late July.