Shanghai-produced films, box office top 2026 Spring Festival season

Shanghai has dominated the 2026 Spring Festival film season as both a leading producer and the nation's top-earning city, driven by the blockbuster success of "Pegasus 3" and robust local consumption.

China's box office revenue during the nine-day Spring Festival holiday that ended Monday totaled 5.75 billion yuan (about 828.65 million U.S. dollars), with total admissions hitting 120 million, the China Film Administration said on Tuesday.

Shanghai-produced films played a pivotal role in this success, with "Pegasus 3" securing the box office crown by earning 2.927 billion yuan. Other major releases involving Shanghai-based studios included "Per Aspera Ad Astra," "Scared Out," and "Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector," showcasing diversified layout across genres ranging from comedy and sci-fi to animation and spy thrillers.

Shanghai's box office revenue during the Spring Festival holiday reached 196 million yuan, securing the top position for the fifth consecutive year. The city also recorded more than 3.64 million admissions and 115,800 screenings during the holiday, both ranking first nationwide.

Industry analysts attribute Shanghai's strong performance to two major advantages. On the supply side, the city boasts a leading number of cinemas and screening sessions, ensuring ample scheduling capacity to meet diverse audience demand. On the demand side, Shanghai has a high proportion of frequent moviegoers, with annual admissions ranking first nationwide from 2023 to 2025.

To further stimulate consumption, the Shanghai Film Bureau, in collaboration with online platforms, launched a 15-million-yuan Spring Festival voucher campaign. The initiative also aligns with the National Film Administration's "2026 Film Economy Promotion Year," promoting pilot programs that integrate films with catering, tourism and cultural resources to unlock additional consumption potential.

"We have used a ticket stub to energize an entire city. For example, the 'MovieLand' mini-program in Hongkou District connects nearly 30 film-related cultural landmarks through a single movie ticket. This truly puts 'cinema plus tourism' policy into practice. We have also used digital tools to empower the overall economy and elevate the consumption market," said Chen Xiaoda, an associate professor at the Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University.

Shanghai-produced films, box office top 2026 Spring Festival season

Public transport workers in several German states staged a strike on Friday amid a deadlock in labor negotiations, bringing train, tram, and bus services to a grinding halt and impacting millions of passengers. The strike, organized by the Verdi trade union, has seen varying durations across the country. In Berlin, the strike was set to last 48 hours, with public services expected to resume only in the early hours of Sunday.

The union said the strike aims to gain leverage in the ongoing negotiations over salaries and working conditions.

The wage talks involve around 150 public transport companies across Germany's federal states and cover roughly 100,000 employees, with specific demands differing from region to region.

Many employees participating in the strike emphasized that the current salary growth has failed to keep pace with the soaring inflation, leading to a significant decline in their real purchasing power.

"Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, our cost of living in Berlin has indeed increased. For instance, rent, inflation, food, electricity, and energy, everything has gone up in price," said a driver of the Berlin Transportation Stock Company (BVG).

"Basically, everyone I know, including myself, has received a rent increase notice. Everyone is shocked when they go grocery shopping every week because they find the food so expensive. Basically, everyone is affected," said another BVG employee.

According to Verdi, there has been very little progress in the negotiations between labor and management, and it remains unclear when a formal agreement might be reached. This strike marks the second large-scale action in the current round of public transport wage talks. In early February, the first strike paralyzed public transportation across the majority of Germany.

Germans face travel chaos as public transport workers stage nationwide strike