Blockbusters such as Detective Chinatown 3 are delaying release dates in response to the pandemic. The country's film industry is striving to get back on its feet. The first installment of the Fengshen trilogy is one of the films ready for theatrical release when cinemas reopen.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"Many companies have been facing cash-flow problems. But I believe it's the duty and responsibility of an enterprise to keep its employees, especially since some of them have strived to fight shoulder to shoulder with you (founders) in the early tough days," Yu said in a recent online meeting organized by the China Film Association.

Yu reveals the company's big-budget war epic, Bingxue Changjinhu (Frozen Chosin), has lost up to 150 million yuan ($21.2 million), mainly because of the suspension of production in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

The film portrays the story of the 17-day Battle of Chosin Reservoir in extremely cold weather on the Korean Peninsula in late 1950 that became a turning point of the Korean War.

Yu says filming was initially planned to start in late January. But the outbreak led to the suspension of filming after the 2,000 cast and crew members had gathered at the shooting sites in Liaoning.

Since the movie is set in winter, filming must be postponed until November.