China's 2025 summer movie season has delivered a robust performance, with box office topping 11 billion yuan and merchandise sales soaring.
The box office, including presales, reached 11.035 billion yuan (about 1.54 billion U.S. dollars) as of 10:35 Beijing time Monday, according to box office tracker Dengta Data.
Over 150 films were released during the summer movie season, which runs from June 1 to August 31, with domestic movies driving significant revenue.
War epics such as "Dead To Rights," "Dongji Rescue" and "Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness" resonated deeply with audiences.
Leading the charts is "Dead To Rights" which tells the story of a group of Chinese civilians who took refuge in a photography studio during the Japanese aggressors' brutal occupation of Nanjing in 1937.
As of Sunday, the film grossed over 2.75 billion yuan since its release on July 25. It is projected to gross up to 4.2 billion yuan in total.
Meanwhile, the animated films "Nobody" and "The Legend of Hei 2" have won both acclaim and commercial success.
"Nobody," a spinoff from the popular "Yao-Chinese Folktales" series, shattered the record for Chinese-made 2D animated films. Debuting on August 2, it has already grossed over 1.26 billion yuan, securing the second spot on the summer box office chart.
"The Legend of Hei 2," the sequel to the 2019 animated hit, also performed well, grossing nearly 472 million yuan since its July 18 release.
The summer movie season also has seen a surge in movie merchandise sales, translating on-screen success into a 120 percent year-on-year growth in revenue.
"Nobody" alone contributed nearly 30 percent to this growth. The film has launched 207 branded merchandise items and also collaborated with over 30 brands to create a diverse array of 400 licensed products, ranging from plush toys and stationery sets to puzzles and cards.
China's 2025 summer box office tops 11 billion yuan, merchandise sales soar
China's 2025 summer box office tops 11 billion yuan, merchandise sales soar
