China's 2026 summer box office maintains strong momentum

China

China's 2026 summer box office maintains strong momentum

2026-08-08 10:35 Last Updated At：11:07

China's 2026 summer box office has continued to gather steam, with total ticket revenue surpassing 8.12 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) as of Friday night, driven by a slate of standout Chinese and international releases.

The season's top three earners so far are the domestic hits "Kung Fu Soccer" and "All Wishes Come True," along with the imported blockbuster "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."

This year's summer season has seen a wave of homegrown animated features hit theaters in concentrated succession. Among them, "All Wishes Come True" has emerged as an audience favorite, reimagining the classic Chinese legend of the Eight Immortals through the stories of eight ordinary people.

The film redefines what it means to be "immortal," showing that true immortality lies not in invincibility or eternal life, but in compassion for all and an unwavering commitment to goodness. By drawing on the philosophical depth and emotional richness of traditional Chinese culture, the film explores universal themes of love, growth, and courage with sincerity and heartfelt emotion.

The film's cumulative box office has exceeded 1.3 billion yuan (about 193 million U.S. dollars), earning it a place among the top ten highest-grossing animated films in Chinese box office history.

The film is also set for release in multiple countries and regions worldwide, bringing China's beloved Eight Immortals to global audiences in a brand-new way.

Beyond domestic productions, imported films have also made a significant splash this summer. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" currently ranks third on the season's box office chart.

The film premiered in Chinese mainland on July 29, two days ahead of its North American debut, underscoring Hollywood's growing confidence in the Chinese market.

On its opening day alone, Chinese moviegoers spent 210 million yuan (about 31.1 million U.S. dollars) at the box office, helping propel the film past the 1 billion U.S. dollar mark globally in just one week.

U.S. loses 23,000 non-farm jobs in July, missing expectations

U.S. non-farm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 23,000 in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, missing market expectations for an increase of 88,000.

The decline was led by a 50,000 drop in local government education employment, while retail trade and financial activities shed 19,000 and 14,000 jobs, respectively. Health care employment continued to rise, adding 22,000 jobs, while other major industries saw little change.

Meanwhile, growth in U.S. total non-farm payroll employment for May was revised down by 66,000 to 63,000, and that for June was revised down by 37,000 to 20,000.

Statistics show that the U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 4.1 percent in July from 4.2 percent in the previous month. Among the unemployed, the number of people on temporary layoff increased by 153,000 to 921,000 in July. The number of permanent job losers changed little at 1.7 million.

The average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls ticked up 2 cents to 37.62 U.S. dollars.

Although the release "disappointed across the board," it wasn't all bad, said Jeff Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments. He noted that the drag from local government education was a typical seasonal pattern at the end of the school year and is usually reversed in the fall.

While one data point does not make a trend, some slowing in the labor market, especially downward revisions in the previous two months, deserves to be paid attention to, said Jeff Rosenberg, a portfolio manager at BlackRock Inc. "It is a noisy data set, but I would not completely toss it out of hand."

Following the report, market participants lowered expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September, while the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell about 5 basis points.