Theaters Quiet in the US, Bustling in China
by EG
Theaters in China turned in record-breaking ticket sales numbers this week. That's in sharp contrast to theaters in the United States, where the box office remains sleepy. By way of contrast, China's top movie this week, Nezha 2, has taken in more than ten times as much as the top US movie, Dog Man. Read on for details.
Bouncing back from a major slowdown in 2024, China‘s theatrical box office is generating boffo business again. Ticket sales revenue in the country has totaled $978 million since the Chinese New Year holiday kicked off Jan. 29, a 27.3 percent compared to the first five days of last year’s holiday.
Enlight Pictures’ animated sequel Nezha 2 is powering the huge numbers. The film, directed by Yu Yang, has earned $434 million and is on track to overtake the war film The Battle at Lake Changjin ($913 million) as China’s biggest blockbuster of all time. Ticketing app Maoyan currently projects Nezha 2 to climb as high as $944 million (6.8 billion RMB). The first Nezha film became China’s biggest animated hit ever with $699.3 million performance in 2019.
Wanda Pictures’ comedy-mystery franchise installment Detective Chinatown 1900, co-directed by Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo, opened in second place with $253.1 million over the first five days of the CNY. Beijing Culture’s fantasy sequel Creation of the Gods scored third place with $124.3 million, and Fantawild’s latest family feature, Boonie Bears: Future Reborn — an annual staple at Chinese cinemas during the holiday corridor — earned $57.9 million.
The Beijing film industry is likely hoping that the strong holiday numbers will draw a line under the sector’s dismal performance last year. Annual ticket revenue in the country plummeted 25 percent to $5.8 billion in 2024, prompting many in the local industry to publicly worry that the theatrical model could be in terminal decline.
Giant screen operator Imax is riding high on this year’s holiday results in China. The company, which released the five biggest holiday hits in its format, reported sales totaling $38.1 million over CNY’s first five days.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.