BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian movie "Stalingrad" topped the weekend Chinese box office with 52.7 million yuan (8.65 million U.S. dollars) worth of ticket sales.

The 3D film by Russian director Fyodor Bondarchuk centers on a controversial love story about a Russian woman and a Nazi officer against the backdrop of the battle of Stalingrad in 1942.

The film has attracted middle-aged and elderly Chinese moviegoers, who had been influenced by imported Soviet Union movies after the founding of new China in 1949.

"I was greatly impressed by the authentic, horrifying, touching scenes in the film," said a 55-year-old surnamed Zhang. "The love story added a human interest element to the movie."

The blockbuster is the first Russian film to be shown in IMAX 3D cinemas internationally.