One of the biggest Chinese box office hits during the Lunar New Year holiday was a spy thriller backed by the country’s intelligence agency.
Scare Out follows counter-espionage agents tracking down a researcher who leaked information about a stealth fighter jet. China’s Ministry of State Security said the script was based on real cases and is a “timely warning rooted in reality,” tying the film to Beijing’s broader security education campaign.
The ministry, which has never directly supervised a movie until now, often “sensationalizes” national security threats to “instill a suspicion of foreigners,” the Jamestown Foundation wrote last year. Scare Out follows a trend of nationalist flicks that cruise to box office success.