China's box office surpasses 11 bln yuan in 2026

China's box office revenue has exceeded 11 billion yuan (about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars) so far this year, maintaining its position as the world's largest single film market.

The total, including pre-sales, surpassed the mark on Thursday, according to data from Maoyan, one of the country's major online movie ticket platforms.

When the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, was in session earlier in March, the strong performance of China's film industry became a widely discussed topic among NPC deputies and national political advisers.

Many said China's leading position in the global box office marks not only a breakthrough but also a new starting point.

Driven by the "Film Economy Promotion Year" initiative, relevant authorities have been promoting cross-sector programs linking films with tourism, gastronomy and intangible cultural heritage, with the emerging "film-plus" consumption model turning box office momentum into broader growth for the real economy.

With support from the China Film Administration, local governments have rolled out a variety of movie ticket subsidy programs since the start of the year, helping reduce average ticket prices by about 6 percent and encouraging more people to go to theaters. Screenings during the nine-day Spring Festival holiday reached a record 4.35 million sessions nationwide.

A single movie ticket can spur spending in sectors ranging from dining and shopping to transportation and cultural merchandise, providing a boost to the offline economy.

Estimates show the total value generated by the film industry has exceeded 150 billion yuan (about 22 billion U.S. dollars) in 2026.

Beyond theaters, the trend of traveling with films is fueling a new wave of consumption. Regions across China are combining local cultural and tourism resources with film-related promotions, creating "film-plus-tourism" experiences that turn cinematic popularity into consumer demand.

Since the start of the year, Chinese films have not only driven the domestic box office but have also continued gaining popularity overseas.

During the Spring Festival holiday, films including "Scare Out" and "Blades of the Guardians" were released simultaneously on the first day of the Chinese New Year in more than a dozen countries and regions, including North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

At the same time, overseas promotions for initiatives such as "China Travel with Chinese Films" are attracting more international audiences to visit China so as to experience the country's culture, natural scenery and modern development.

China's box office surpasses 11 bln yuan in 2026

China's box office surpasses 11 bln yuan in 2026

Embodied artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a major highlight at the ongoing 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), with humanoid robots and related technologies showcasing advances across the industry's full industrial chain -- from whole-machine motion and underlying control systems to data collection and training.

More than 130 companies and institutions are exhibiting in the telecommunications, computer and information services exhibition hall at this year's CIFTIS, where the full industrial chain of embodied AI is on display.

Humanoid robots are among the key attractions, demonstrating technologies covering whole-machine movement, underlying control and data collection.

One humanoid robot on display is equipped with a domestically-developed electronic architecture platform for robots. The architecture is designed to meet functional and safety requirements across a range of applications, including daily life, industrial production and healthcare.

"With the enhanced security functions of the electronic architecture, we can effectively prevent cyberattacks or damage caused by viruses, ensuring that our robots can carry out their designated tasks in a secure state," said Li Ping, a representative of an exhibiting company.

Difficulties and high costs in collecting and calibrating data have long been the challenges hindering the development of the embodied AI industry.

An exhibitor specializing in data services for embodied robots has developed a simulation training system that can highly replicate real-world physical environments.

The system allows robots to undergo repeated training and trial-and-error in virtual settings, significantly reducing training costs for embodied intelligence companies.

The company has so far made more than 100,000 hours of human behavior datasets freely available worldwide, covering 15,000 different scenarios.

"We hope this can help small and medium enterprises in China's embodied AI industry, as well as research institutions, conduct training more quickly and lower the barriers to accessing data. Meanwhile, we are also promoting the standardization of data products and hope to process the data to a high-quality standardized level, so that the same dataset can be reused by multiple teams," said Dong Xiaochao, a representative of the exhibiting company.

The five-day CIFTIS opened on Wednesday, drawing participants from 90 countries, regions and international organizations, with over 1,800 companies showcasing their service products on-site.

Humanoid robots showcase advances in embodied AI at CIFTIS