China’s New Year Box Office Shatters Records with $1.3B, as ‘Ne Zha 2’ Eyes Global Milestone!

China’s Spring Festival in 2025 has set an impressive new box office record, with total earnings reaching RMB 9.51 billion (around $1.3 billion) from January 28 to February 4. This is a significant increase from the previous record of RMB 8.02 billion, showing just how much more people are spending on movies during this festive period.

The record-breaking momentum started strong on January 29, when the box office hit its biggest single-day earnings ever, with RMB 1.8 billion (about $247.5 million) across all films. The box office continued to do well, with every following day bringing in over RMB 1 billion (around $137.5 million), keeping the trend of high earnings steady throughout the week.

The total number of movie tickets sold also reached a new high during this time, with 187 million tickets purchased, according to Maoyan. This shows that more people are going to the movies, excited to watch the films that were released for the Spring Festival.

One of the standout performers this year is the animated film Ne Zha 2, which is leading the box office with RMB 4.84 billion (around $665.6 million) in earnings so far. The movie reached its highest earnings on the biggest day of its run, and it has already broken records for box office sales during the Chinese New Year period, making it the highest-grossing film for this time of year in China’s history.

Ne Zha 2 has already surpassed the earnings of its predecessor, Ne Zha, which was released in 2019, and it is closing in on The Battle at Lake Changjin, which was the highest-grossing film in China in 2021. Ne Zha 2 is predicted to finish with RMB 8.7 billion (around $1.2 billion), which would make it the first film to ever earn more than $1 billion in one country.

If the film surpasses Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ North American earnings of $936.7 million, Ne Zha 2 will become the highest-grossing film in a single market.

In second place for the Spring Festival period is Detective Chinatown 1900, which earned RMB 2.28 billion (about $313.5 million). Other films that performed well include Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force, which brought in RMB 998 million (around $137.2 million), Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants with RMB 591.5 million ($81.3 million), Boonie Bears: Future Reborn earning RMB 508.6 million ($70 million), and Operation Hadal which made RMB 290.8 million ($40 million). These films are still showing in theaters and continue to add to their earnings.

This record-breaking success can partly be attributed to a government-backed promotional scheme that offered RMB 600 million ($83 million) in subsidies to moviegoers. This incentive, along with local campaigns in different regions, encouraged more people to buy tickets.

Additionally, the films released during this period were mostly sequels or based on familiar stories and characters, which helped attract large audiences who were already fans of the franchises.

Stanley Rosen, a China expert and USC professor, believes that the familiarity and quality of the films played a huge part in this success.

All of the top films were part of popular franchises, which likely drew in large crowds who were eager to see the next installment in a series they already loved.

The Spring Festival period is traditionally the most profitable time for cinemas in China, so these strong earnings do not necessarily indicate a complete recovery for the entire market.

However, the success is promising, especially after a disappointing 2024, where the overall movie market shrank by 25% compared to 2023. Rosen suggests that the film industry’s success is part of a larger trend in China, where people are spending more on entertainment, despite the country’s economic challenges. This is especially true for younger people, some of whom may be dealing with unemployment or uncertain job prospects.

Looking ahead, it is unclear what the success of Chinese films during the Spring Festival means for Hollywood movies in China. In 2024, China accepted several Hollywood films, and it seemed that some of the country’s censorship restrictions had eased. Two American films even made it into the Top 10 of the year.

However, it will be interesting to see how major Hollywood releases do in China later in 2025, particularly films like Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire & Ash. These films may reveal more about how the Chinese market will react to big foreign productions moving forward.

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