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Spring Festival film season

China’s Spring Festival film season — often called the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year box-office window — is the country’s highest-stakes theatrical period. It typically runs from Lunar New Year’s Eve through the national holiday week, when hundreds of millions of travelers return home and cinemas compete for family and blockbuster audiences. Distributors schedule major domestic titles for this slot; opening-day and holiday-week grosses are watched as industry barometers. Knotrope reports English-language coverage of line-ups, daily and cumulative box-office figures, and how specific films perform against rivals in the same window.

Key facts

  • The window aligns with Lunar New Year and China’s Spring Festival public holiday, not the Gregorian January 1 New Year alone.
  • It is one of the world’s densest concentrated theatrical periods by admissions and revenue.
  • Line-ups are usually dominated by Chinese-language features, with occasional Hollywood holdovers.
  • Pre-sales, opening-day grosses and full-holiday totals are standard industry checkpoints.
  • Coverage on Knotrope focuses on China-market results and domestic film industry context.

FAQ

What is the Spring Festival film season?

It is the theatrical release and box-office window around Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year), when major Chinese films open for the holiday audience.

Why does the Spring Festival box office matter?

Holiday demand is unusually high, so a film’s Spring Festival run can define its annual commercial profile and signal studio and genre trends for the year.

Where can I read English coverage of the season?

Knotrope aggregates English reporting on China film and TV, including Spring Festival line-ups, grosses and related industry stories linked below.

Related coverage

What to watch this week | "Farming 2" starts airing, "Hunting Ice" is both popular and controversial
Feb 24, 2024
4 movies have been withdrawn one after another. Why is the Spring Festival release so hot and cold?
Feb 20, 2024
Xinhua Daily Telegraph: Record-breaking Spring Festival stalls reveal new trends in China’s film industry
Feb 19, 2024
The movie box office during the Spring Festival holiday was 8.016 billion yuan, with 163 million moviegoers
Feb 18, 2024
Create the first interactive Spring Festival Gala, Xiaohongshu inspires new ways of communication between the Spring Festival Gala and young people
Feb 16, 2024
"Hot and Spicy": Jia Ling is a smart director
Feb 15, 2024
The box office for the Spring Festival in 2024 will exceed 6 billion
Feb 15, 2024
The Spring Festival box office exceeded 3.5 billion, with "Hot and Furious", "Flying Life 2" and "Bear Infested" temporarily ranked among the top three
Feb 13, 2024
Jia Ling responded to losing 100 pounds: She didn’t “get thinner” but “got stronger”
Feb 11, 2024
The Spring Festival pre-sale box office exceeded 600 million, and "Bear Bears" rose to third place
Feb 10, 2024
A sneak peek of the highlights of Dragon TV's Year of the Dragon Spring Festival Gala, "Flowers" and "Uncle" are about to reunite
Feb 09, 2024
The whole world watches the Spring Festival Gala! More than 2,100 media outlets in 200 countries and regions will broadcast live and report on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala
Feb 09, 2024
The main station's Year of the Dragon Spring Festival Gala broadcasts new and old songs to warm your heart. Listen to what Huang Bo, Mao Buyi and others have to say.
Feb 08, 2024
The total pre-sale box office of new films during the Spring Festival exceeded 200 million, with "Flying Life 2" and "Hot and Spicy" ranking first and second
Feb 04, 2024
1+4! China Central Radio and Television Station's "2024 Spring Festival Gala" branch venue release
Jan 05, 2024
The New Year's Day box office hit 1.5 billion in three days. Going to the cinema is not just for watching movies.
Jan 02, 2024
The Spring Festival Gala mascot was questioned by netizens about its AI synthesis. Official: It was really made with one stroke.
Dec 07, 2023
Since this year, the national movie box office has exceeded 50 billion yuan
Nov 18, 2023
New film丨The film "Mr. Red Carpet" directed by Ning Hao and starring Andy Lau has been postponed to the Spring Festival next year
Nov 08, 2023
"Legend of Magpie Knife Gate": The ancient version of the story of Ivory Mountain
Aug 23, 2023