UK cinemas have offered extra screenings of the Chinese film My People, My Country, after ticket demand surged for the patriotic movie that marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The movie tells seven stories of the most iconic moments in the history of the PRC, showing the vital roles of ordinary people in shaping the country's development. 

The movie is showing in 14 cinemas across 11 cities in the UK, including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

However, the movie proved so popular that tickets for most of the screenings sold out before the official release.

"Tickets of all the 14 screenings in central London Odeon cinema between 1 October and 10 October have been sold and it also happened in other cities like Manchester and Liverpool," said Robin Liu, who is in charge of the film's distribution in the UK.

Fans traveled far and wide to get tickets.

Wang Chenxin, a student at University of the Arts London, was waiting to see the movie at the Odeon in central London. He said: "It is a really exciting moment [to be able to see the movie], because you know this film is very popular in London and it is very hard to book the tickets. So, I tried a whole different way and it took me over two hours from my home to this place." 

After the first day, cinemas received requests for extra screenings but they are struggling with scheduling as the US supervillain blockbuster Joker is set to hit the UK on 4 October. "We got a lot of requests from local Chinese communities, so we have to discuss with Odeon about adding more screenings," said Liu.

Odeon Cinemas in Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield announced extra screenings on 2 October, while others said they will keep the schedule flexible to meet the huge demand from the Chinese community.

My People, My Country  was released in more than 20 countries across Europe on 1 October, including the UK, Germany, France and Italy. It reaped more than $84 million in 36 hours after it was released in China.