"Cliff Walkers," the first foray of renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou into the spy genre, topped the Chinese mainland box office chart Thursday with a presale earning of about 7.36 million yuan (1.14 million U.S. dollars), a day ahead of its official debut, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed Friday.

 

Starring Zhang Yi and Yu Hewei, the action heavyweight tells a story on how four communists working on a secret mission have faced with a grim mire after being betrayed by renegades.

 

Heartwarming film "Sister" ranked second, generating 4.34 million yuan in box office revenue on Thursday.