China’s Lunar New Year holiday ended on February 4th, with the total box office for movies hitting a new high during the holiday period, becoming the focus of official Chinese media’s daily “good news” reports. While the distribution of movie vouchers in many places is considered a key factor in the surge in box office revenue, some foreign media suggest that the economic downturn in China has led to consumer downgrading, making watching movies a cheaper alternative to traveling during the Lunar New Year, which is also a contributing factor to the box office success.
According to reports from Chinese media, the six domestically produced films released during the Chinese New Year period include: the epic fantasy film “Feng Shen Part II: The War of Xiqi”, the animated film “Ne Zha: The Devil Child’s Sea Play”, the martial arts film “Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Xia”, the comedy suspense action series “Detective Chinatown” with its latest installment “Detective Chinatown 1900”, the patriotic military war film “Operation Dragon”, and the family-friendly animated film “Boonie Bears: Reboot”.
Statistics from data platforms show that as of February 4th, the total number of moviegoers during the Chinese New Year in 2025 surpassed 170 million, with box office revenue reaching 10 billion RMB. The top three films at the box office were “Ne Zha: The Devil Child’s Sea Play”, “Detective Chinatown 1900”, and “Feng Shen Part II: The War of Xiqi”. Official Chinese media has proudly declared that both box office revenue and the number of moviegoers have set new records in Chinese Lunar New Year film history, bringing a long-awaited celebration to the entire film market, making watching movies a “New Year tradition”.
Despite “Ne Zha: The Devil Child’s Sea Play” dominating the Lunar New Year box office with over 5.2 billion RMB in revenue, not all films have been equally successful. For example, the patriotic war film “Operation Dragon”, which had an investment of 1 billion RMB, only accumulated 265 million RMB in box office revenue in the first six days since its release on New Year’s Day. Industry predictions suggest that the film is unlikely to break 400 million RMB in total revenue, resulting in losses exceeding 800 million RMB for the production company, potentially setting a record for the most dismal losses in Chinese film history.
According to Reuters, the increase in Chinese movie box office revenue has reached an all-time high due in part to the slow economic growth period that has affected other types of expenses, making popular movies during the Lunar New Year attract large audiences.
The report indicates that another reason for the high Lunar New Year box office revenue in China is that the Chinese government views “watching movies” as part of its economic stimulus plan by providing subsidies to audiences, highlighting how the official sector stimulates consumer spending through subsidies. Provinces such as Beijing, Jiangsu, Hubei, and Guangdong have all issued cinema voucher subsidies as part of plans to maintain a 5% economic growth rate for the coming year.
Furthermore, Reuters mentions that during the Lunar New Year period, cinemas in small towns in China were packed to capacity, with higher ticket prices and sold-out shows. Media reports even mentioned a cinema in Hunan province selling standing-room tickets to meet the high demand from audiences. To attract more viewers, the six films released during the Lunar New Year also offered discounted tickets, while ticketing platforms promoted Lunar New Year movie ticket packages to entice audiences.
However, the Reuters article points out that due to unstable employment and income situations, as well as a prolonged slump in the housing market, Chinese consumers have been cutting back on spending. Some young people are not heeding official calls to consume more but are intensifying their savings efforts, even discussing ways to “spend less and save more” among themselves.
Radio Free Asia’s report highlights that during the 8-day Lunar New Year period, despite efforts by governments in various regions of China to boost consumption through subsidies, people choosing to watch movies instead of traveling reflects a shift in Chinese consumer patterns, as well as indicating concerns among people about uncertain job prospects and income. With “crowdedness” and “congestion” traditionally being symbols of the “Spring Festival travel rush” in China, mainland Chinese netizens have expressed finding a similar feeling of rush and crowds in cinemas this year.
One netizen commented, “When I go to the cinema, I see nothing but Chinese movies being screened, and just a few of them at that. The effort to boost box office revenue without overseas outflow is too obvious. Hasn’t anyone heard of the ‘Chinese film protection month’ anymore?”