The mainland China film market continues to be in a slump, with the total box office during the recent Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period falling back to the levels of 13 years ago. People in the entertainment industry have expressed their concerns about the bleak situation in the film and television sector.
According to statistics from the mainland China film ticketing platform “Maoyan,” as of 9 p.m. on September 27, the total box office for the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival period (from the 25th to the 27th) was 269 million yuan (RMB). During the 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival period, which lasted only one day, the box office was around 200 million yuan; the data for 2026 is only slightly higher than last year, and the last time the box office for the Mid-Autumn Festival period was less than 300 million yuan was in 2013.
Statistics show that during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, despite the release of 13 domestic and international films, it was still difficult to revive the sluggish film and television market. The total box office of several films during the Mid-Autumn Festival period was even lower than that of the previous film “Nülái.”
The horror film “Inauspicious Times” was pulled from the Mid-Autumn Festival lineup due to zero box office sales, and it is scheduled to be screened again on October 8.
The highly anticipated film “Heroes of Dunhuang,” which was expected to gross over 1 billion yuan, only earned just over 140 million yuan. In December 2023, just two days before its release, the film was abruptly withdrawn from theaters, later changing its title to “The Battle of Dunhuang.” It’s puzzling that after being set for release during the Mid-Autumn Festival period, the film reverted back to its original title “Heroes of Dunhuang.”
Moreover, there have been continuous reports of people in the entertainment industry expressing concerns about the bleakness in the film and television sector.
Mainland actor Hu Ge recently graced the cover of the Chinese version of GQ magazine. In an interview, he expressed helplessness in the face of the current harsh winter in the entertainment industry and the sluggish film market, saying he can no longer choose scripts based on his personal preference as before, bluntly stating, “There’s no choice now.”
Hu Ge said, “The film market is very realistic; if you can’t break even, the opportunities become fewer and fewer.”
Directed by Feng Xiaogang, the film “Caught Spies,” starring Hu Ge and Lei Jiaxin, was released in mainland China in June this year, with a total box office of only 119 million yuan. According to industry insiders, the film’s production budget was as high as 250 million to 300 million yuan.
Actor Zhao Youting also previously lamented the film and television industry’s current chilliness, describing it as “so cold that there’s no need for air conditioning at home in the summer,” expressing his regret that “movies are no more.” At that time, he revealed that he had not been on a set filming for a year and a half.
Renowned mainland talent agent Yang Tianzhen revealed in the podcast “Tianzhen Not Tianzhen” that the number of drama shootings this year is only 30% of last year. The current industry norm is that even if the production team has signed contracts with actors, the projects could still be shelved at any time. Due to the breakdown of the funding chain from investors or platforms withdrawing funds midway, a large number of projects that were already initiated and in preparation were forced to be “aborted” at the last minute, unable to even begin filming.
In recent years, Sun Jia, who has successively won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress and the Magnolia Award for Best Actress, also confessed in the program that she had “not entered a set for a long time” and rarely had time “to do some leisurely activities.”