During the “Golden Week” holiday (October 1st to October 8th), the Chinese box office saw a nearly 13% year-on-year decline, with a 4% decrease in the number of moviegoers. At the same time, the average ticket price for movies also dropped compared to the same period last year. The box office hit its lowest point since 2017 (excluding the lockdown period in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Throughout the holiday period, mainland Chinese films covered a variety of genres including historical war dramas, fantasy action films, comedy for families, animation, and crime dramas, seemingly catering to the viewing preferences of adults, families, and children. However, the box office numbers did not reflect this diversity.
On October 9th, the Chinese National Film Administration released statistics showing that during the 8-day “Golden Week” holiday in 2025, the nationwide box office revenue was 1.835 billion yuan (RMB).
According to a report by “21st Century Economic Report” on October 9th, the box office revenues during the holidays from 2021 to 2024 were 4.388 billion yuan, 1.497 billion yuan, 2.735 billion yuan, and 2.105 billion yuan respectively. This year’s box office revenue decreased by 270 million yuan compared to the previous year, marking it as the second lowest in nearly five years.
The data from the film administration also revealed that during the holiday period, there were 50.07 million moviegoers, a 4% decrease compared to the previous year. The total number of screenings increased by 12% to 3.647 million, yet the number of moviegoers decreased by over 2 million compared to the same period last year. The average ticket price was 36.6 yuan, a decrease of 3.75 yuan compared to the previous year, representing a 9.28% decline.
A report by Caixin on October 9th showed that even with a constant supply of film content and an extra day in the holiday period, lower ticket prices did not prevent a continuous decline in movie audiences.
According to data from Lighthouse, during the holiday period, the box office revenue share in first-tier cities hit a historical low at only 13.4%.
With a sluggish market, film companies are feeling the pressure of business operations. As reported by “21st Century Economic Report,” the Chinese film market faced a significant drop in the second quarter of this year, with a 34.73% year-on-year decrease in nationwide box office revenue. The box office revenues for the Qingming Festival and May Day holidays both experienced notable declines. Additionally, film companies are facing financial pressures. The major summer blockbuster “The Sauce Alley Case,” featuring A-list celebrities like Zhang Ziyi, Jackson Yee, Zhao Liying, Lei Jiayin, and Yang Mi, only grossed 375 million yuan. This caused losses for the production company, Joyful Media.
The half-year report of Joyful Media revealed a net loss of 102 million Hong Kong dollars in the first half of the year. The company mentioned that the box office revenues from films released during this period fell short of expectations, leading to the losses.
A producer of a previous annual box office champion project disclosed, “Now, investment in projects is becoming more cautious, and cost control is getting stricter. The authority of top directors is decreasing.”