Recent statistics show a drop of nearly 20% in the box office revenue of China’s summer movie season compared to the same period last year. The number of screenings also decreased by 16.17%, while the average ticket price dropped by 3 yuan (RMB) from the previous year. Industry experts believe that the current Chinese film market is facing numerous challenges.
According to a report from “First Financial” on August 16, as of the same date, the total box office revenue for the 2025 summer season (from June to August), including advance sales, reached 9.6 billion yuan, marking a 17.85% decrease compared to the previous year. During this period, there were a total of 32.1129 million movie screenings, representing a 16.17% decline, with an average ticket price of 37.39 yuan, lower than the 40.9 yuan average price from the previous summer season.
In terms of regions, Guangdong province topped the list with 1.25 billion yuan, followed by Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province in the second and third positions respectively. Looking at cities, Shanghai ranked first with 636 million yuan, while Beijing claimed the second spot with 512 million yuan.
Market analyst Lai Li from Maoyan Entertainment stated that following the Chinese New Year period, the performance of the film market has been relatively lackluster, facing significant challenges. Despite entering the summer season, overall market enthusiasm remains lukewarm. In the first half of the summer season, the performance of the film market, particularly domestic productions, showed no significant improvement.
A report from Top Research Institute this year highlighted that the current Chinese film market continues to encounter numerous challenges. There is a shortage of medium to high-volume films, with domestic film supply still in the destocking phase. Insufficient funding for new projects, along with a sharp decline in the number of medium to high-cost projects being launched, further compound the challenges. Additionally, the growth of mobile internet traffic, led by platforms like Douyin, has led to online entertainment consumption encroaching on cinema viewing time, contributing to a significant loss of young audience members in the film market each year.