China's box office has continued to soar this year. According to online data, as of October 2nd, the annual total surpassed 42.502 billion yuan, surpassing the 2024 total. This achievement is driven by the continued booming Chinese film market.
Over 300 films released this year
The big and small schedules help the film market continue to "boil"
Since the beginning of 2025, the Chinese film market has been continuously producing excellent films. From the "strongest ever" opening of the Spring Festival box office, to the "diverse genres" of the summer box office, to the "multi-film competition" of the National Day box office, each key period has significantly boosted the film market.
So far this year, over 300 films have been released nationwide, covering a wide range of genres including history, comedy, animation, fantasy, and drama, catering to both family-friendly needs and individual tastes.
It is currently the peak season for movie-watching during the National Day holiday. Currently, 13 films have been scheduled for release during the holiday, covering a wide range of genres and each with its own highlights.
As of 12:25 on October 2
The total box office of the 2025 National Day holiday has exceeded 500 million yuan
Among them, the historical film "Volunteer Army: Bloody Peace" uses a grand narrative to restore history, pay tribute to heroes, and resonate with the audience; the comedy "Wandering Life" has become a popular choice for family viewing with its family-friendly humor and warmth; the animated film "Three Kingdoms Starry Sky Part 1" reconstructs the classic IP with an innovative perspective, attracting parents and children to theaters; the fantasy film "Assassination of Novelist 2" continues the imagination of the previous film, using visual wonders to create an immersive experience; the drama films "Wind, Forest, Fire and Volcano" and "Bi Zhengming's Proof" focus on real-life issues and attract attention with delicate narratives...
The diverse film supply not only satisfies the audience's expectations, but also makes "watching movies on National Day" one of the ways to spend time with family and friends during the holiday.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. A number of films set against historical backdrops, such as "Nanjing Photo Studio," "Eastern Pole Island," "Mountains and Rivers as Witness," and "731," have become market highlights, showcasing the Chinese people's journey through the War of Resistance from diverse perspectives and highlighting their great spirit. Through the screen, we remember history and cherish peace.
Furthermore, this year's Spring Festival and summer box office seasons performed exceptionally well. The 2025 Spring Festival box office has been called "the strongest ever," showcasing a "one superpower, many strong" landscape. The animated film "Nezha: The Devil Child Conquers the Dragon King" gained popularity thanks to its sophisticated production and iconic IP. Meanwhile, diverse films like "Detective Chinatown 1900" and "Investiture of the Gods 2" also captivated audiences, offering viewers a wide variety of choices. Ultimately, the Spring Festival box office reached a record high, laying the foundation for a strong start for the entire year's film market.
As the longest film season of the year, the summer season has attracted much attention from the film industry and audiences across the country.
This year's summer blockbuster films encompass a diverse range of genres, including history, suspense, action, comedy, and animation, catering to diverse audiences. According to online data, the total box office for this year's summer blockbuster reached 11.966 billion yuan, exceeding the same period last year. This was further driven by the success of a number of high-quality films, including "Lychees of Chang'an," "The Stage," "The Little Monsters of Langlang Mountain," and "Catching the Wind and Shadow," ensuring that the season remains popular and audiences have a wide selection of films to choose from.
It's worth noting that the vitality of the Chinese film market in 2025 will not only come from major film seasons, but also from smaller periods like the Qingming Festival and May Day holiday, as well as the market's daily performance, which will fuel the continued "boom" of the Chinese film market. Films such as "Blue Star Outside the Window," "The Dumpling Queen," "The Wind Kills," and "Unique," with their positive reputations, are attracting audiences to theaters during their free time, effectively promoting "going to the movies" as a daily cultural consumption habit.
Integrate traditional Chinese culture and innovate narrative methods
Chinese stories set sail overseas
Currently, an increasing number of Chinese films are incorporating traditional cultural cores and infusing contemporary values into their creations. Through innovative storytelling and the latest technology, these films not only appeal to the aesthetic tastes and spiritual pursuits of Chinese audiences, but also possess the potential to enter the international market. China's development is attracting global attention, and Chinese stories are sailing abroad, with many films receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences overseas.
As China's first film set in space, "Outside the Window Is a Blue Planet" has grossed over 43 million yuan. The film is the first to feature the China Media Group's (CCTV) logo and be released nationwide. It incorporates the vast beauty of the universe into its images, presenting a uniquely Chinese space aesthetic and bringing "cosmic romance" to audiences. "Outside the Window Is a Blue Planet" will continue to be shown during this National Day holiday.
As the first Chinese space documentary to be released overseas, "Outside the Window is a Blue Planet" has been screened in countries such as the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Mexico, allowing foreign audiences to gain a deeper understanding of China and the lives and dreams of the Chinese people. Many viewers have commented that it is a "double feast for the eyes and the soul."
In addition, the animated film "Nezha" grossed over 15.44 billion yuan worldwide, with over 400 million yuan overseas, earning it both the "Global Single Market Box Office Champion" and the "Global Animation Box Office Champion," and even ranking fifth on the "World's All-Time Box Office Chart." "Nanjing Studio" grossed over 3 billion yuan worldwide, sparking significant buzz in the United States, Canada, Germany, and other countries, allowing more international audiences to remember history and cherish peace through film and television.
Small ticket stubs make a big difference
"Movie+" effectively activates new economic momentum
Since the beginning of this year, the film industry has been transitioning from a singular box office economy to a diversified consumer ecosystem, with "traveling to a city for a movie" becoming a new trend in cultural tourism. National policies have been continuously introduced to support innovative "film +" business models. Through the integration of film and tourism and the ticket economy, film has become a new engine for boosting consumption and driving economic growth.
The "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Service Consumption" issued by the State Council clearly proposed "promoting film-related consumption"; the "Several Policy Measures on Expanding Service Consumption" proposed supporting places with conditions to use online traffic from high-quality performing arts, animation, games, film and television works to drive offline scene innovation.
This year, the State Film Administration and China Media Group jointly launched the "China Film Consumption Year", introducing a series of activities such as "Travel with Movies" and "Taste Food with Movies", giving full play to the positive role of movies in boosting consumption, developing the ticket economy, and injecting new impetus into economic development.
On the eve of National Day, a multi-departmental joint promotional event for the 2025 National Day holiday, "Follow Movies to Enjoy Food," was held in Beijing. A series of specific activities promoting the integrated development of the film and restaurant industries were announced, encompassing the National Day period. This initiative injects new content and expands new scenarios into the "movie + food" consumption synergy. Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, and other regions have collaborated to launch subsidies to boost consumption through this "movie + food" initiative, effectively empowering the development of cultural tourism, catering, and other industries.
The "Movie+" sector offers enormous potential for development, both upstream and downstream. This "+" has enabled movies to become a nexus for diverse consumer scenarios. The value of film is spilling over the screen, becoming deeply integrated into the socioeconomic landscape and people's daily lives in a richer form.
We look forward to witnessing more excitement both on and off the screen. The future of Chinese cinema is bright! See you in the cinema!
