As the New Year approaches, a slate of films is gearing up to compete at the box office for the lucrative festival season.

China Movie Channel, the country's largest broadcaster specializing in showing films, hosted a themed event on Wednesday to promote the most anticipated new movies and recent blockbusters gaining popularity in domestic theaters.

One of the most highlighted projects is Octopus with Broken Arms, the third installment of renowned filmmaker Chen Sicheng's loosely connected Manslaughter franchise, with the first movie Sheep Without a Shepherd released in 2019 and the sequel Fireflies in the Sun in 2021.