Chinese mainland's Spring Festival box office revenue, including pre-sales, has exceeded 2.8 billion yuan (about 377 million U.S. dollars) as of 12:08 Thursday, according to box office tracker Dengta Data.
The China Film Administration reports that Wednesday, the first day of the Chinese New Year, generated a record-breaking 1.805 billion yuan in box office revenue, with over 35 million people flocking to cinemas.
These figures exceed the previous single-day records for both revenue and attendance, set on the first day of the Chinese New Year in 2021.
Six domestic films hit cinemas on Wednesday, with a diverse genres catering to a wide spectrum of audiences.
The lineup includes the mythological epic "Creation of the Gods II: Demonic Confrontation," the sequel to the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese history "Nezha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea," martial art film "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero," action comedy "Detective Chinatown 1900," military-themed film "Operation Hadal" and animated feature "Boonie Bears: Future Reborn."
The first four of these films each exceeded 200 million yuan in pre-sale ticket sales, making it the most successful pre-sale period in history.
"This year's Chinese New Year movie is the strongest yet. Even morning screenings are drawing large crowds, with attendance at 60 to 70 percent capacity. Some smaller theaters are completely sold out. Family comedies and detective thrillers are proving especially popular," said Shen Yan, a cinema manager in Guangzhou City.
Among the highly anticipated releases is Nezha, a sequel to the animated film inspired by Chinese mythology.
"Watching a movie is a great way to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Nowadays Chinese animations have more beautiful special effects," said a moviegoer. "When I entered the cinema, I found that their equipment is very new, with super comfortable seats," said another moviegoer.
This year's holiday lineup features a record number of visual effects blockbusters. Some productions incorporated AI-generated content (AIGC) for ultra-realistic visuals.
Cinemas have also upgraded their facilities to enhance viewing experiences.
"All six films for Spring Festival are available in CINITY format (which runs at 60 frames per second - compared to the traditional 24) in our cinema. The high framerate and dynamic images are quite popular among the audience," Shen said.
The cinemas in Shanghai are also packed on Wednesday as the new films drew a large crowds of moviegoers, many of whom attended as families.
"Based on the current growth rate, we expect Spring Festival box office to reach new heights, setting a positive tone for the 2025 film market," said Wu Ting, a cinema manager in Shanghai.
China's Spring Festival box office exceeds 2.8 bln yuan
China's Spring Festival box office exceeds 2.8 bln yuan
Chinese President Xi Jinping's New Year message delivered on the New Year Eve has drawn positive responses from scholars and former officials from several countries, who say that the series of global initiatives proposed by Xi have provided fresh momentum for multilateralism and shared development at a time of growing uncertainty.
While the reactions touched on the broader vision outlined in Xi's New Year message, they also focused on the initiatives Xi has put forward over recent years, particularly the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the newly proposed Global Governance Initiative.
Highlighting the significant importance of these initiatives, they have emphasized the need for equality, inclusiveness and a fairer international order.
"We need a more just international order and a truly multilateral system. China stands almost alone today as a global force actively advancing genuine multilateralism. Therefore, these initiatives are most welcome," said Michael Schumann, chairman of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade.
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has placed the emphasis on dialogue and trust-building between civilizations.
"It is essential now more than ever to promote communication and understanding between China and the world to enhance cultural exchanges and build mutual trust. As President Xi has repeatedly emphasized, China supports principles of unity, inclusiveness and peacefulness. These values should guide our collective efforts to build bridges rather than walls," he said.
From a governance perspective, Russian scholar Ekaterina Zaklyazminskaya, head of the Center for World Politics and Strategic Analysis at the Institute of China and Modern Asia under the Russian Academy of Sciences, has viewed the Global Governance Initiative as a structured response to global challenges.
"The recently proposed Global Governance Initiative presents a comprehensive framework of ideas. It prioritizes establishing a more just international order, champions multilateralism, and upholds the principle of 'people first.' Through its concrete practices, financial assistance, and tangible support for multilateral bodies like the U.N., China has demonstrated that its commitments are substantive. China is taking tangible steps toward a fairer and more reasonable global governance system," she said.
Scholars from the Global South also have seen historical echoes in the initiatives.
"Some of the developed and developing countries have highly welcomed the Global Development Initiative, because this initiative emphasizes the need for partnerships -- partnerships that commit resources to end global poverty and pursue common and shared development. The Global Governance Initiative, in my view, echoes again the call that was made by Asian [and] African countries at the Bandung Conference in 1955 for equality, for mutual respect, for respect of territorial integrity, [and] for respect of sovereignty," said Bongani Maimele, director of international relations at South Africa's National School of Government.
"These initiatives are revolutionary in nature. They are reshaping the political philosophy of global governance. Today's world is far more complex than it was 80 years ago, and interdependence among nations has deepened. Therefore, we need new philosophical perspectives to examine our world and new models of engagement to foster a new type of international relations," said Sheradil Baktygulov, director of Kyrgyzstan's Institute of World Policy.
Int'l scholars praise Xi's initiatives, call for stronger multilateralism
