Typhoon Pulasan makes second landfall in China

Pulasan, the 14th typhoon of the year as counted by China's meteorological authorities, made a second landfall in the country Thursday evening.

The typhoon, which reached a maximum wind force of 23 meters per second near its center, hit Fengxian District of Shanghai at about 21:45 after its first landfall earlier the same day in Zhejiang Province, according to the municipal meteorological observatory of Shanghai.

Pulasan moved further to Jiangyin City in the neighboring Jiangsu Province at 05:00 on Friday. Its intensity would gradually weaken, said the Zhejiang meteorological observatory.

The impact of Typhoon Pulasan is expected to be widespread. From 20:00 Thursday to 20:00 Friday, heavy to torrential rain were forecast for parts of central and southern Jiangsu, southeastern Anhui, Shanghai, and northern and western Zhejiang.

Some areas in southeastern Anhui and southeastern Jiangsu may see 100 to 160 millimeters of rainfall.

Pulasan is the second typhoon to make landfall in Shanghai this year, following Typhoon Bebinca.

Typhoon Pulasan makes second landfall in China

Typhoon Pulasan makes second landfall in China

Typhoon Pulasan makes second landfall in China

Typhoon Pulasan makes second landfall in China

Typhoon Pulasan makes second landfall in China

Global film industry insiders have highlighted the Chinese market's role in boosting global film revenues, with the country's box office garnering nearly 51 billion yuan (approximately 7.24 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, a significant portion of which was generated by imported films.

Leading recent releases, Disney's animated comedy film Zootopia 2 has raked in over one billion dollars in global box office earnings, with nearly half of that revenue stemming from China, significantly outpacing the North American market.

The blockbuster's impressive performance in China has been a key engine driving its global box office success. In its opening week, Zootopia 2 set a record for the highest opening weekend for a non-local animated film in China, far exceeding expectations.

This strong showing further underscores how the Chinese market has evolved from merely an important box office for Hollywood to a core driving force behind its global success, according to observers.

Mike Wang, a partner at a U.S. cinema chain, expressed optimism about the film's continued success with Chinese audiences.

"I think this movie will be very good and popular in China. The popularity will continue for around two months, and I do hope that this movie will bring international movies back on track to where they were," he said.

"That story is, in some ways, an unexpected win. And because of all that, Zootopia 2 is becoming right now a centerpiece of Disney's marketing efforts. And we can claim that it is Disney's most important movie in China this year, for sure," said Ashley Dudarenok, a digital media marketing expert.

According to industry insiders from North America, against the backdrop of the global film landscape undergoing a historic transformation, the Chinese market has become an indispensable box office pillar for Hollywood and a key force capable of steering global industry trends, thanks to its population of 1.4 billion and over 90,000 screens in the country.

"And so that does make people sit up and take notice that Chinese people don't just stream things online. They actually go to the cinemas. And don't we wish people did that here in North America? And so it also shows that there is, again, a shift in the power of the global film market," said Christopher Rea, associate head of the Department of Asia Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

As Hollywood films like "Zootopia 2" and "Avatar 3" enjoy significant success in China, international media outlets have lauded the market's openness and global appeal.

China emerges as core engine of global film industry growth: observers