China's 2025 box office tops 10 billion yuan, surpassing North America

In a major milestone of the film industry, China's box office revenue for 2025, including pre-sales, has officially exceeded 10 billion yuan (over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars), surpassing those of North America.

Latest data has showed that the box office revenue has hit 10.12 billion yuan, placing China at the top of the global box office rankings for this year.

As of 10:40 on Tuesday, the box office for the Spring Festival holiday period reached a new historical record of 8.7 billion yuan (over 1.21 billion U.S. dollars), with cinemas across the nation receiving over 170 million visits.

The number exceeding the figure registered in the 2024 Spring Festival, setting a new record for audience attendance during the Spring Festival in Chinese cinema history.

The week-long holiday, which runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, is traditionally the most lucrative period for China's film industry, with audiences flocking to theaters to watch new releases.

Meanwhile, the daily box office has exceeded 1 billion yuan for six consecutive days since Jan. 29 when six films targeting the holiday season were released.

Leading the pack are the animated fantasy "Ne Zha 2," Detective Chinatown 1900" and "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force".

The historic high box office of the Spring Festival holiday reflects the high-quality development in China's domestic films and highlights the strong recognition of Chinese traditional culture among audiences.

It also indicates vibrant consumption during the holiday as well as the consumers' confidence in domestic productions.

In addition, innovative marketing strategies have enabled Spring Festival films to break new ground ahead of schedule.

This year, the promotional methods for films during the Spring Festival have evolved from traditional events including theater previews to a diversified approach that includes short video promotions and social media interactions, igniting excitement and expectations for the films.

Moreover, special effects have become the "invisible infrastructure" of the film industry, with five out of the six blockbusters targeting the holiday season featuring advanced special effects.

Data shows that films with special visual effects have comprised about half of the total offerings during the Spring Festival seasons of the past five years.

The trend highlights how special effects have infiltrated various types of films, becoming integral to the industry.

Traditional cultural themes have also gained popularity among this year's Spring Festival films, as half of the films released during the festival are rooted in traditional Chinese culture, including ancient Chinese history, mythology, and martial arts culture.

Additionally, almost every film for this Spring Festival has been coupled with related tourist attractions, which have seen a marked increase in tourist visits as a result.

China's 2025 box office tops 10 billion yuan, surpassing North America

China's 2025 box office tops 10 billion yuan, surpassing North America

China's 2025 box office tops 10 billion yuan, surpassing North America

China's 2025 box office tops 10 billion yuan, surpassing North America

China's 2025 box office tops 10 billion yuan, surpassing North America

Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.

The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.

Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.

"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.

"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.

"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.

Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.

Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.

"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.

"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.

Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts