China's summer film market rebounds, grossing 9.1B yuan

By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, September 4, 2022
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China's box office revenue for the summer movie season, which ran from June 1 to Aug. 31 this year, topped 9.13 billion yuan ($1.32 billion) on Wednesday, according to entertainment big data platform Lighthouse.

Caption: Movie posters for the top 10 films for China's summer season: "Moon Man," "Lighting Up the Stars," "Jurassic World Dominion," "Detective Vs. Sleuths," "Warriors of Future," "New Gods: Yang Jian," "The Fallen Bridge," "Mozart from Space," "Minions: The Rise of Gru," and "My Blue Summer." [Image provided to China.org.cn]

This year's revenue beats the 7.38 billion yuan recorded during the same three months in 2021, with 234 million cinema admissions, an increase of 15% year on year. Meanwhile, the giant screen format exhibitor IMAX China also announced its box office soared to 303 million yuan over the summer holiday period, representing an impressive 34% increase over the same period last year. The remarkable growth indicates that the Chinese film market is recovering and booming.

The top three earners were sci-fi comedy "Moon Man," sentimental family drama "Lighting Up the Stars," and the Hollywood sci-fi adventure flick "Jurassic World Dominion," respectively raking in 2.9 billion yuan, 1.71 billion yuan, and 1.06 billion yuan by Aug. 31.  

A total of 115 movies were released this summer in China. This summer was a massive success for sci-fi films. Besides "Moon Man" and "Jurassic World Dominion," Louis Koo-starred-and-produced "Warriors of Future" and Chen Sicheng's "Mozart from Space" also hit the market, grossing 620 million yuan and 223 million yuan, respectively. 

Light Chaser Animation's new title, "New Gods: Yang Jian," led the genre this summer by grossing 362 million yuan by Sept. 3. It has surpassed the Hollywood title "The Bad Guys" to become the second biggest grossing animation on the Chinese market this year. 

Two crime films, Wai Ka-Fai's "Detective Vs. Sleuths" and Li Yu's "The Fallen Bridge," also made it in the top 10 for this summer, taking in 711 million yuan and 229 million yuan, respectively.

Another phenomenal film was the critically acclaimed low-budget indie film "Return to Dust" by Li Ruijun. Despite its initial lack of profitability, the art-house film, about a rural couple, has now grossed more than 74.5 million yuan by Saturday. It was a rare windfall for a film of this genre, evidencing that there is still an audience for quality cinema.

Reopening cinemas aided the recovery. 680 IMAX theaters, approximately 90% of the IMAX China network, have reopened in mainland China. A total of 8 Hollywood and domestic tentpole films landed in IMAX theaters during the summer holiday, with 7 out of 10 top-grossing films being IMAX titles. "Moon Man" led the run to become IMAX's highest-grossing film this summer with a 110 million yuan intake from its IMAX format, followed by "Jurassic World Dominion," with a stellar performance of 106 million yuan at IMAX.  

The growing market share is a powerful endorsement of IMAX brands. It is becoming the primary choice and the go-to destination for blockbuster experiences among mainstream and young audiences as China's film market recovers from the COVID-19 resurgence.

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