Hold tight, movie buffs! The Chinese mainland’s box office in 2025 has already hit around 42B yuan — just 500M yuan shy of last year’s full-year 42.5B yuan. With the 8-day National Day holiday kicking off on October 1 and fresh releases dropping, 2025 is set to leap past 2024 nearly three months early! 🎬🚀
The breakout star? Ne Zha 2 roared in with a jaw-dropping 15.4B yuan during Lunar New Year 🐲🔥 Other major players include Detective Chinatown 1900 at 3.6B yuan, summer hits Dead to Rights (3B yuan) and Nobody (1.6B yuan), making Nobody the highest-grossing 2D animated film ever on the Chinese mainland. 🎉
On ticketing app Maoyan, new films for National Day have already chalked up over 100M yuan in pre-sales and previews. Highlights in the holiday lineup:
- The Volunteers: Peace at Last — Chen Kaige’s war epic trilogy finale 🎖️
- Row to Win — a crowd-pleasing comedy perfect for group watch 😂
- A Writer’s Odyssey II — the fantasy action sequel fans have been waiting for ✍️⚔️
- Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes — historical animation aiming to launch a new franchise 🐉
- Plus a re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water 🌊
Analysts spot a clear trend: sequels and franchises — aka IP-driven films — are the new norm. IP (intellectual property) basically means your fave stories coming back for more. This shift mirrors Hollywood but with that unique Chinese mainland flair. 🌟
After rebounding to 54.9B yuan in 2023 and dipping to 42.5B yuan in 2024, the industry is cautiously optimistic that the 50B yuan mark is within reach. So, grab your popcorn, book your tickets on Maoyan, and enjoy the cinematic ride! 🍿✨
Reference(s):
China's 2025 box office to surpass 2024 as holiday releases roll out
cgtn.com
