One line of the film mentioned that the 800 from the 88th division have received German military equipment. That is only partial information as that division was trained by German military advisers who were helping China's government since 1927.
The warehouse can still be visited today and has a museum about the battle.
Originally scheduled to premiere on 15 June 2019, but called off one day earlier, citing 'technical difficulty', with the premiere date unannounced. Media argued the cancellation was due to the producers' lack of political sensitivity. This year marked the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party victory against the Nationalists. The producer company's stock price fell by 8% the day the premiere was called off.
The film is an exaggerated fictionalisation of the real incident. For example, the film depicts a vastly greater death toll than occurred during the actual event, and only one Chinese soldier is actually reported to have sacrificed himself by jumping out a window with explosives whereas the film depicts a line of many men doing so.
With its $461 million gross, this was the top-grossing film of 2020 at the global box office, becoming the first non-Hollywood, non-English language film to top the annual worldwide list. However, it has since been surpassed by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train (2020). This film also marked the first time China surpassed the United States as the world's largest box office market. Much of this success is largely attributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic resulting in most Hollywood films having postponed their releases.