China is seeing a surge in box office revenue during the ongoing 2025 Spring Festival holiday, fueled by an innovative of "Movies and Meals" cross-promotion that is drawing significant foot traffic to both cinemas and restaurants nationwide.
The initiative, jointly launched by the China Film Administration (CFA) and the Ministry of Commerce on January 20, encourages collaboration between the film and dining industries, offering a range of discounts and incentives to consumers.
The annual Spring Festival holiday is one of China's most lucrative movie-going seasons, and this year's Spring Festival holiday season runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, one day longer than previous years.
During the holiday, tourist Li Sisi and her family members from north China's Shanxi Province visited Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, where they enjoyed authentic local cuisine and were thrilled to win a movie ticket valued at over 100 yuan (about 14 U.S. dollars) to see Chinese live-action, fantasy epic film "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force".
"The movie we most want to see during the Spring Festival is 'Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force.' We rewatched the 'Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms' before coming, so winning movie tickets is an additional delightful surprise. We are very happy," Li said.
While Li's family delighted in a feast accompanied by a free movie ticket, local resident Zhu Jingjing and her family members enjoyed a different experience. Using their movie ticket stubs, they were able to redeem complimentary signature dishes at the dining outlets located in the same mall as the cinema.
This reciprocal arrangement benefits both participating businesses. Cinemas attract larger audiences, while restaurants see a surge in customers.
The "Movies and Meals" campaign has proven particularly effective for restaurant chains, many of which partnered with the producers of "'Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force" and local cinemas to offer themed meal deals.
Dai Jiahua, manager of a Jiangsu-based restaurant chain, reported positive results from their first film-themed promotion.
"In our first-ever movie collaboration, we introduced the 'Creation of the Gods' themed set meals for two and four diners, priced at 168 and 498 yuan (23 and 69 U.S. dollars) respectively, offering great value. On the first day of the Chinese New Year (Wednesday), we sold around 500 orders. The overall sales increased by 10 percent compared to the same period last year. This partnership between dining and movies watching has been very effective, and I hope for more collaborations in the future," Dai said.
The collaboration extends further, with some cinemas and popular hotels offering combined accommodation and movie packages during the holiday.
"When guests check in at the hotel, they will receive movie exchange vouchers. They can redeem these at the cinema for movie tickets and select their preferred showtimes and seats. We exchanged about 40 tickets on the first day of the New Year," said Li Chao, manager of a cinema in Nanjing.
Since December last year, the CFA has encouraged relevant institutions to allocate approximately 600 million yuan (82.7 million U.S. dollars) in movie-going consumption subsidies -- a move analysts say is aimed at unlocking the full consumption potential of moviegoers.
Kaiyuan Securities predicts that total box office takings will see a 6.7-percent year-on-year increase to reach 8.54 billion yuan (1.18 billion U.S. dollars) during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday.
Cross-promotion initiative boosts box office, catering during Spring Festival
