Multiple newly shot Chinese films have been released during the ongoing Chinese New Year holiday, which began with the Spring Festival, including two highly-anticipated blockbusters premiering on Tuesday -- the very first day of the 2026 Chinese New Year.
"Scare Out" is a contemporary espionage thriller directed by Zhang Yimou.
Featuring a star-studded cast including Jackson Yee, Zhu Yilong and Song Jia, the project marks Zhang's fourth Spring Festival release in five years and fuses a major political theme with a faster-paced, youth-oriented cinematic language. The first contemporary national security-themed film directed by Zhang centers on a leakage of classified military aviation data and follows a Chinese counterintelligence team as it navigates shifting loyalties and hidden betrayals.
"Comrades from China's Ministry of State Security told me many stories, from all aspects. But in fact, we need to turn them into a concise story of about 100 minutes with tight plots and a captivating story line. It's released during the Spring Festival holiday, a timing that makes you realize that it is just because of the dedication by those people depicted in this film that we can have a Spring Festival featuring family reunion. They are the ones that quietly shoulder the burden and move forward to protect today's peaceful days for us. So it's meaningful to be released during the holiday," said Zhang Yimou, director of the film.
The film enjoyed a 276 million-yuan (39.95-million-U.S.-dollar) debut day in the Chinese mainland, according to Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.
Another Chinese New Year tentpole, "Blades of the Guardians," is adapted from a cult-favorite comic.
Directed by legendary action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, and featuring a multigenerational lineup of martial arts stars, such as Jet Li and Wu Jing, the film is about a mysterious escort mission -- escorting the "most wanted fugitive," to Chang'an, the capital city of several ancient Chinese dynasties.
"I hold the same expectations for martial arts films now and in the future that I hope new generations will replace the older ones and carry on the tradition. The younger generation I have seen and met is all very good. They have their passion and ideals," Yuen said.
"This action film is different from all other martial arts action films I've shot before. I don't want the flashy and elaborate poses, but the feeling of striving desperately, because I think overseas audiences have never seen such an action film before. I just hope to try this one and make them evaluate us in a different light. The film would be popular among them," he noted.
"Blades of the Guardians" has garnered over 156 million yuan (22.58 million dollars) after the opening day at the box office in the Chinese mainland, Maoyan data showed.
"We actors presented the actions with our physical limits in such a special environment. We also hope this film can help audiences to see their favorite swordsman with their own eyes," said Wu Jing, executive producer and leading actor of the film.
In addition, there are several other popular box office hits in the Spring Festival holiday season, including "Pegasus 3", the latest installment in Han Han's blockbuster car racing comedy franchise, and "Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe" starring Jackie Chan.
China's 2026 Spring Festival box office, including presales, topped 3 billion yuan (about 434.24 million U.S. dollars) by Thursday evening -- five days into the official nine-day holiday season, according to industry data.
China's official Spring Festival holiday season, which began on Sunday, is one of the most important periods in the world's second-largest film market.
Multiple Chinese blockbusters hit screen during Spring Festival holiday
