China’s 2025 summer box office season has increased 2.7% from last year, 2.7% from last year and 2.7% from last year, according to a new report from the Maoyan Research Institute.
The average ticket price fell to $5.04. This is the second lowest in the period due to reduced distribution fees and reduced ticket subsidies campaigns. The report noted that flexible pricing has helped to boost audience enthusiasm, and stated that it is the second-highest occupancy rate of the past five summer seasons.
The two films rivaled 2024, exceeding 100 million ($140 million), but the total number of titles increased between RMB500 million and RMB. Local films increased market share slightly, while imported films continued to recover for two years. The top three releases account for almost half of the season’s revenue, highlighting what analysts call the “Matthew Effect.” This leaves some blockbusters gaining unbalanced market share and leaving them low visibility.
The top gross titles for the season were “Dead to Rights,” “Nobody,” and “The Shadow’s Edge.” The 2D animation feature, “Nobody Nobody,” sets up a new record in China’s box office history for format, earning over 1.466 billion ($1.99 billion). Its success followed the momentum of “Ne Zha 2” and increased the commercial ceiling of domestic animation.
Among imports, Jurassic World: Revitalization reaffirms the appeal of established global IP, leading by RMB 567 million ($77 million). The diversity of the top 10, including “The Legend of HEI 2”, “F1: Film”, and “Stage”, reflects the wider audience demand across genres.
Lai Li, market analyst at Maoyan Entertainment, highlighted the outstanding performance of Animation, a growing advanced movie corner segment driven by “stages” and IP development opportunities. “Looking forward, the Chinese film market needs to focus more on the content creation itself, using diverse and high quality content to meet the increasingly sophisticated, segmented and reasonable demands of viewers, thereby promoting stable and prosperous market development,” Lai said.
