China's 2025 film market promising with strong start

China's film market is off to a strong start in 2025, with box office pre-sales for the Spring Festival surpassing 525 million yuan (US$73.2 million) as of Saturday, fueling optimism about the performance of the world's second-largest film market this year.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar for family reunions and also one of the most lucrative movie-going seasons in China.

"The Spring Festival often sees the release of quality films, and the box office performance during this period sets the tone for the development trends of the entire year," stated China International Capital Corporation, an investment bank offering consultancy services.

Figures from film data platform Beacon showed that advanced ticket bookings for movies set for release during the holiday exceeded 500 million yuan within just five days of pre-sales beginning on January 19, signaling an upturn in China's movie market.

After facing downturns in recent years, China's film market is set to rebound in 2025, with a strong start during the holiday season, according to observers.

They predicted that the total box office revenue of the 2025 Spring Festival holiday season, running from January 28 to February 4, one day longer than before, has the potential to surpass the 2024 record of approximately 8 billion yuan and reach a new high.

Zhang Yue, president of Ao Yo International, a culture and media corporation, told a news service under the Chongqing Daily that a diverse range of films from various genres and subjects will be screened during the holiday, offering audiences more options.

"As living conditions improve, people's demand for cultural and entertainment consumption has risen. The box office performance during the holiday is crucial for the market's recovery this year," Zhang was quoted as saying.

Six domestic films are set to debut on January 29, the first day of the 2025 Chinese New Year. Among them is the highly anticipated blockbuster "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero," an adaptation of a Chinese wuxia classic, which has generated 223 million yuan and become the biggest box office draw in the pre-sales chart.

"Ne Zha 2," the sequel to the 2019 animated blockbuster "Ne Zha," claimed the second spot, with advanced bookings totaling 89 million yuan. It is closely followed by the latest installment of the "Detective Chinatown" franchise and "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force," the second film in a mythology trilogy.

"My friend and I booked the tickets immediately upon hearing the news that 'Creation of the Gods II: Demon Forces' will be released," said Song Jiaming, a film enthusiast from Beijing. "The first film in the series was a huge success in 2023, and we're both excited for the upcoming release."

The strong holiday season has raised optimism for a record-breaking year at the box office. The box office revenue of 2025 has reached 2.2 billion yuan by Saturday, according to Beacon.

Industry insiders believe that policy support and the recovery of market confidence will create new opportunities for growth in the film industry this year.

Song told Xinhua that she used to be a fan of Western movie franchises like "Avatar" and "The Lord of the Rings." However, her interest has gradually shifted as an increasing number of domestic films, with strong cultural resonance, have graced the silver screen.

"Domestic films are playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese film market. They account for more than 80 percent of the box office with a trend of continuous growth," according to Huang Wenyu, an industry analyst.

As the quality of domestic films improves and their range of genres expands, they are expected to maintain their dominance in the Chinese film market, Huang added.

To boost the film market, the China Film Administration has launched a consumption promotion campaign, offering subsidies totaling 600 million yuan to the public until the end of February.

Besides, local governments in provincial-level regions including Guangdong, Hubei, and Jiangsu will issue tens of millions of yuan in additional vouchers to encourage more people to go to the cinema.

Analysts also noted that with the film market expected to show steady growth this year, competition will intensify. They have called for a focus on enhancing film production quality, improving overall film standards, optimizing the competitive landscape, and promoting digital transformation.