China's 2026 box office (including pre-sales) has surpassed 12 billion yuan as of Friday evening, according to the latest data released by online platforms.
The country will also see nearly 20 films being released during the Qingming Festival holiday, which runs from April 4 to 6.
A film analyst said family and kinship became a focus of this year's film season, with three films, namely, "It's OK", "Now I Met Her", and "Sunshine Women's Choir" all telling moving stories about family relationship.
"It's OK", which focuses on the mother-daughter relationship, depicts how a mother and her daughter move from confrontation to mutual understanding by overcoming profound differences in their outlook on life.
"Now I Met Her" tells the story of a rebellious teenage son who embarks on a journey to know his late mom through the diaries she wrote when she was young.
"Sunshine Women's Choir", a production from China's Taiwan region, is a touching story about a group of women who heal each other and reconcile with their past through singing.
"Among domestic productions, three films focus on family and kinship. As a cluster, they are able to generate a collective effect, encouraging audiences to go to cinemas to support and pay attention to films of such themes and styles," said Zhang Jinfeng, chief editor of China Film News.
The suspense film "Game of Identity" follows two persons from vastly different backgrounds who embark on an adventurous "life swap" by accident.
The imported animated film "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" follows brothers Mario and Luigi on an adventure to explore an uncharted galaxy.
"Regarding film supply, we have more films released during this year's Qingming Festival holiday than last year, which can meet diverse appetites of different groups of audience," said Zhang.
China's 2026 box office surpasses 12 bln yuan
An increasing number of German consumers are considering buying electric vehicles (EVs) in the face of high fuel prices, according to a recent survey by the largest German online car trading platform, mobile.de.
As the Middle East tensions continue to drive up international oil and gas prices, the cost of automotive fuel has been rising steadily in many European countries.
According to fuel price data compiled by the German Association of the Automotive Industry, since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, gasoline prices in Germany have risen by nearly 20 percent, while diesel prices have shot up by more than 30 percent.
Results from a recent survey by mobile.de show that if gasoline prices remain at current high levels, 43 percent of respondents said they would switch to EVs, and 36 percent cited long-term cost savings as the most important reason for considering an EV purchase.
Additionally, the platform's data show that inquiries about used EVs surged by 66 percent in the first half of March.
"We are absolutely seeing much more interest on mobile.de for electric cars. What the German energy transition couldn't do, this current geopolitical situation has done in terms of transition to electric cars," said Ajay Bhatia, CEO of mobile.de.
In addition to high oil prices, government subsidies are also a key factor driving German consumers to consider purchasing EVs.
The German government announced the resumption of subsidies in January of this year, planning to invest 3 billion euros over the next few years to provide purchase subsidies for some 800,000 EVs.
Driven by the combined effects of high oil prices and subsidy policies, German consumers' interest in EVs has grown clearly. However, it remains to be seen whether this shift will evolve into a more sustained market trend.
"How long it will stay is anyone's guess, but at the moment we're absolutely seeing an increase, and sometimes these transitions need a catalyst. And this is definitely a catalyst that is seeing the transition to electric cars speed up," said Bhatia.
More Germans interested in buying EVs due to high oil prices: survey
