Pre-sales for China's 2026 Spring Festival movies begin

With a week to go before the Spring Festival holiday, box office pre-sales for the holiday movie season in China began on Monday, taking in more than 50 million yuan (about 7.21 million U.S. dollars) on the day.

The Spring Festival holiday, running for nine days from Feb. 15 this year, is one of the key movie seasons in the world's second-largest film market. It accounted for nearly one-fifth of China's annual box office revenues in both 2024 and 2025, with last year's season generating a record 9.5 billion yuan (about 1.37 billion U.S. dollars) in eight days. In each of the past three years, the season's top title went on to become the year's overall box-office champion. That concentration of commercial power makes the Spring Festival slate a closely watched predictor of broader trends in China's movie market.

The movie lineup combines familiar franchises, a high-stakes spy thriller, and family-friendly fare, reflecting an industry leaning on proven intellectual property while cautiously testing new thematic territory amid competition from streaming platforms, short-form video and AI-driven entertainment.

Leading the early buzz ahead of its Spring Festival opening is "Pegasus 3," the third installment in director Han Han's racing-comedy franchise starring Shen Teng, one of China's most bankable comedic actors. On the Maoyan online ticketing platform, "Pegasus 3" currently ranks first in "want-to-see" interest selections by Spring Festival moviegoers this year.

"Scare Out," a contemporary espionage thriller directed by Zhang Yimou, has also drawn strong early attention. Developed with guidance from the Ministry of State Security, it centers on a leak of classified military aviation data and follows a counterintelligence team as it navigates shifting loyalties and hidden betrayals.

Another high-profile entry, "Blades of the Guardians," adapted from a cult-favorite comic, is directed by legendary action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and features a multigenerational lineup of martial arts stars. It is a rare, large-scale ‘wuxia’ production at a time when the genre, which features legends of ancient Chinese warriors, has become less common in Chinese cinema.

On the animation front, "Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector”, the 12th entry in the franchise, is the sole animated feature being released this season. With cumulative box-office earnings exceeding 8 billion yuan (1.13 billion U.S. dollars), the series has become a family-friendly holiday staple.

The holiday slate has also been most recently joined by "Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe," a sequel starring Jackie Chan, and "Per Aspera Ad Astra," a fantasy adventure aimed at younger viewers.

Pre-sales for China's 2026 Spring Festival movies begin

Hong Kong's first astronaut lifted off into space on Sunday, sparking a wave of enthusiasm for space exploration in the special administrative region, while inspiring a new generation to look to the stars.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 23:08 (Beijing Time) on Sunday. The crew members include Lai Ka-ying, the first astronaut and payload specialist from Hong Kong to join a national space mission, whose achievements have motivated many Hong Kong residents.

"I feel so happy and thrilled. This is the first time a Hong Kong astronaut has gone to space, and to see a true Hong Konger, who is also a mother of three, just really touches my heart," said Chow, a local resident.

The successful spaceflight of Lai has especially captivated the younger generation to dream bigger about the future.

"I want to be an astronaut, because I want to discover more things about space," said a young student surnamed Chow.

"I have seen things related to spaceflights of astronauts. I hope when I grow up, I could receive training and go to space myself," said another student surnamed Koo.

To meet public expectations, the Hong Kong Space Museum has updated its space-themed exhibition with the latest development of the Shenzhou-23 mission, extending the display until July 6. Parents are seizing the moment to enrich their children's knowledge.

"At his age, I want him to be exposed to a wide range of information. With all the recent astronaut news, I brought him here specially to see for himself. We will also check out a film about space knowledge at the planetarium. I hope he can get more out of this from an early age," said Cheung, a father.

"We just watched the Shenzhou-23 launch at home with my son last night, and decided to take him to the Space Museum," a mother surnamed Chun shared.

"I saw on TV that so many people were cheering for the launch. When the rocket was launched, fire burst out from its body. I was really happy they succeeded," said Chun's son.

Hong Kong's first astronaut ignites citywide enthusiasm over space exploration