The Chinese film market is experiencing a remarkable surge this year, reigniting consumer excitement for cinema and attracting growing interest from international investors eager to tap into the burgeoning market.
The phenomenon is driven by a wave of high-quality domestic productions like "Ne Zha 2". Steeped in traditional Chinese mythology, the animated hit serves as a prime example of the tremendous potential within China's cinematic landscape.
The film has grossed over 14.16 billion yuan (about 2 billion U.S. dollars), surpassing the box office performance of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and securing a place among the top seven films globally. Notably, it has become the highest-grossing animated film worldwide and the first in Chinese cinema to exceed 10 billion yuan (1.37 billion U.S. dollars), setting a new standard in a single market.
As the domestic film industry flourishes, investments in new cinemas are on the rise. In 2024, more than 1,000 new theaters were newly opened across the country. Chains like Emperor Cinemas, whose new location opened in Beijing on Friday, are increasingly viewing Chinese mainland as a crucial market for expansion.
"This is our 14th cinema. Our main locations are in Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing and the Greater Bay Area, and we plan to keep expanding in the future," said Bill Lee, general manager of Emperor Cinemas (China).
Lee shared that when he started in the industry two decades ago, the average box office for a domestic film was around 500 million yuan (about 69 million U.S. dollars). Today, high-quality movies regularly surpass 5 billion yuan, with some even exceeding 14 billion this year.
The momentum is not limited to cinema operators, with many actors now witnessing firsthand the rapid development of the Chinese film sector and the subsequent appearance of high-quality productions.
"The Chinese film market has really become a full-service ecosystem. On top of building more and more cinemas, foreign film companies are now much more involved in the production of Chinese films. With cinema chains stepping up their game, there's a stronger focus on creating the best possible movie experience, improving things like sound effects, mixing, and presentation. All of this is feeding into a positive cycle, and we're seeing higher and higher quality films being made as a result," said Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, a celebrated Chinese actor and singer.
Chinese film market expands rapidly, drawing increased foreign interest
Chinese film market expands rapidly, drawing increased foreign interest
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
