The Mainland China’s “National Day” movie season concluded on October 7, with a box office revenue of approximately 1.16 billion yuan (RMB) over 7 days, a decrease of nearly 45% compared to the same 7-day period in 2024, marking the lowest since 2015.
According to data from the Lighthouse Professional Edition, as of 8:14 pm on October 7, the box office from October 1 to 7 was 1.156 billion yuan, with approximately 31.76 million moviegoers.
Among them, “The Trace of Detective” grossed about 420 million yuan, “What Does It Mean Couple” about 240 million yuan, and “Biohazard Crisis: Night Outbreak” about 170 million yuan, accounting for over 70% of the total box office for the period.
Public data shows that the box office revenue for the Chinese “National Day” movies reached 4.466 billion yuan in 2019; 27.34 billion yuan in 2023; and dropped to 2.104 billion yuan in 2024. In 2025, with an 8-day period, the box office revenue was 1.835 billion yuan, further declining to around 1.16 billion yuan this year for a 7-day period.
The lackluster performance during the pre-sale period was evident. According to reports, as of the night of September 30, the box office revenue of new films this year, including previews and pre-sales, was about 600 million yuan, significantly lower compared to over 1 billion yuan during the same period last year.
Galaxy Securities research report stated that although there were many films released this year, there was a lack of standout box office hits that could attract a large number of audiences into theaters, leading to the box office pressure.
Citigroup previously cited weak consumption and the lack of clear blockbuster films as reasons for the box office pressure. With the Mid-Autumn Festival and the “National Day” holiday close together, the extended holiday arrangements have driven long-distance travel. Citigroup believes that tourism may further divert movie consumption.
On October 7, the entertainment capital theory media in the film and television industry commented that the audience’s enthusiasm for traditional “National Day” themed films has waned. Coupled with the overall lack of competitiveness of new films, the box office revenue continued to decline.
These developments have sparked discussions among netizens. One Weibo user mentioned that there were no movies this year for the “National Day” season that they particularly wanted to watch. They had initially planned to watch “What Does It Mean Couple” but decided to wait for better reviews after hearing about its clichéd plot.
Another netizen commented that only when a work is of high quality will audiences be willing to spend money to go to the movies. They don’t want to pay for subpar films. Another netizen left a message saying, “If you dare to make bad films to deceive the audience, then don’t blame the audience for not buying it.”