Chinese film fans have been flocking to cinemas up and down the country to catch the latest releases for the country's Spring Festival holiday, with the total box office revenue for the festive period already surpassing the 1.5-billion-yuan mark (over 217 million U.S. dollars) on Tuesday.
Data from ticketing platform Maoyan showed that total takings, including presales, for the 2026 Spring Festival had already exceeded the 1.5 billion yuan mark on Tuesday, as people across China celebrated the arrival of the Year of the Horse.
Seen as the most lucrative period for the country's fast-growing film industry, the Spring Festival holiday typically sees a raft of big blockbusters being screened to coincide with the Chinese New Year celebrations. This year's film season officially kicked off on Sunday and will run through to Feb 23, when the nationwide holiday ends.
The line-up of new releases this Spring Festival features a diverse range of genres including comedy, action, animation, and sci-fi, offering audiences a colorful cinematic feast.
Among them is "Pegasus 3", the third installment in director Han Han's racing-comedy franchise, "Scare Out", a contemporary espionage thriller directed by Zhang Yimou, and the animated fantasy film "Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector", the 12th feature film in the franchise.
This year, the "film plus" model will be fully upgraded to explore more new business formats, while cinemas and shopping malls across the country have launched a series of Spring Festival activities to draw consumers.
Through the deep integration of "movie-watching entertainment plus full-format consumption," they are offering multiple benefits and preferential measures.
In east China's Fujian Province, cinemas across the province are holding 70 themed public welfare screenings during the Spring Festival, inviting frontline workers who remain at their posts during the holiday, including couriers, food delivery riders, community volunteers, sanitation workers, medical staff, and drivers, for special screenings.
In northeast China's Liaoning Province, a series of measures have been launched during the festive period, including playing intangible cultural heritage promotional videos in cinemas and offering exclusive discounts with movie ticket stubs at heritage venues.
These initiatives enable residents to personally visit heritage experience sites and feel the unique charm of traditional culture beyond the big screen.
China's Spring Festival box office surpasses 1.5-bln-yuan mark
The 2026 China Media Group (CMG)'s Spring Festival Gala, which aired from Monday night to Tuesday in celebration of the Chinese New Year, offered a joyous audiovisual feast to audiences both at home and abroad, setting new records in viewership.
As of 08:00 on Tuesday, the gala's total media reach in China soared to 23.063 billion views, a 37.3-percent increase compared to the previous year. The live broadcast captured a remarkable 79.29 percent share of the national television market, achieving a 13-year high. During the gala time, the average number of viewers (or listeners) online simultaneously reached 325 million, with peak viewership exceeding 400 million.
The gala's viewership on Chinese new media platforms reached new heights this year. The total number of direct-on-demand views skyrocketed to 16.207 billion, a 49 percent year-on-year increase. Among these, CMG's own app recorded a total playback volume of 770 million, up 2.7 percent year on year. Live broadcast playback reached 605 million times, an increase of 60.05 million compared to last year. The accessible version of the gala accumulated a direct-on-demand playback volume of 28.3366 million on CMG's channels and apps, representing an impressive 144 percent year-on-year increase.
The gala's online popularity continued to climb, with nearly 2,000 topics trending. As of 13:00 on Tuesday, the total reading volume for topics related to the 2026 gala reached 27.12 billion. Major platforms experienced a surge in trending discussions, listing a total of 1,939 topics. Among the viewers across all media channels for the gala, young users accounted for a growing share of 41.82 percent, an increase of 1.35 percentage points from the previous year. Mentions of programs related to new quality productive forces also rose, with content about AI and humanoid robots making up 20.99 percent, reflecting a remarkable 5.4-fold increase. Meanwhile, CMG reported the gala globally through 85 foreign language platforms. CGTN's (China Global Television Network) related reports reached a global readership of 2.309 billion, while video views totaled 843 million, representing increases of 32.85 percent and 43.61 percent, respectively, compared to last year. The CMG coordinated with nearly 4,000 media outlets worldwide to provide simultaneous broadcasts and coverage of the gala, marking a 37.95 percent increase. A total of 4,062 public screens across 140 cities from 98 countries livestreamed and promoted the event, with the number of countries and screens rising by 12.6 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, compared to last year.
2026 Spring Festival Gala achieves record-breaking viewership, global reach
