BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's 2026 summer box office revenue surpassed the 10-billion-yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) threshold Sunday, suggesting a steadily growing market fueled by industry improvements and audience expansion.
Four of the five highest-grossing films in the summer movie season from June to August are domestic productions, three of which are rated 8 out of 10 on Douban, a major Chinese film review platform.
One of them is the newly released drama "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East," which follows a Chinese man working as a chef at a Chinese restaurant in the Middle East in the 2000s when war breaks out. It has grossed more than 900 million yuan within a week of screening, drawing positive feedback for both its perspective on war and vivid portrayal of life in the Middle East.
"Beyond the compelling story, the restaurant in the film looked so authentic -- all those tables, walls, and even the grease stains around the stoves made it seem like people actually lived there," said Jiao Yiming, a viewer from Qingdao in east China, after watching the film.
What Jiao may not know is that the restaurant and street scenes he found so convincing were filmed at a film and television industry park near his home in suburban Qingdao.
The core scenes of the film were built up over six months at the park named China Movie Metropolis. Covering about 1.7 million square meters, it is one of China's key bases for industrialized film production.
According to Li Miao, the film's production designer, the art department had built an entire street block to recreate the bustling commercial atmosphere of the downtown area where the film was set more than 20 years ago. All shops were designed to accurately reflect the period, and each was furnished with its own distinctive details.
The creative team even built a realistic restaurant kitchen on the set where the characters could cook, complete with aging the walls and tiles using techniques such as smoke staining.
"The film required not simply a street scene, but a comprehensive living space for the characters, room for cameras to move freely, and a setting where the changes brought by war could be vividly shown to the audience," said Chen Fangjian, deputy general manager of China Movie Metropolis.
Chen noted that, as the film was made for both standard and IMAX screenings, the sets had to be interconnected rather than built as single facades. "Cameras could move from inside the restaurant all the way out onto the streets, with both sides of the setting -- and even its depth -- potentially visible to the audience," he said.
Li Yan, a vice professor at the Institute of Humanities and Arts of Shandong University, said that "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" reflects advances within China's film industry, from merely being able to make films to being capable of delivering complex projects stably.
"Professional film and television production bases like China Movie Metropolis provide the physical foundation for the complex and systematic collaboration required by the film industry," Li said.
FILM, PLUS MORE
Another acclaimed box office grosser this summer, the animated film "All Wishes Come True" based on the Chinese legend of the eight Taoist immortals, has profited from not only cinemas but also toy stores.
It shows a currently popular revenue model for Chinese films, particularly animations, that covers both film tickets and related sectors such as cultural and creative products, as data from the China Film Administration showed that the total output value of China's film industry chain reached 817 billion yuan in 2025, including 339 billion yuan generated in retail, catering, and other related sectors.
Alongside the release of "All Wishes Come True" in July, its production team, based in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan Province, partnered with local manufacturers to launch licensed merchandise, including stationery, magnets, ornaments and designer toys. Featuring Sichuan intangible cultural heritage techniques, such as Shu brocade weaving, woodblock prints, and embroidery of the local Qiang ethnic group, these products have generated more than 1 million yuan in sales so far.
"Sales at our workshop have soared since the film became a hit," said Chen Xingyu, an inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage of Shu brocade weaving, whose workshop produces licensed merchandise for "All Wishes Come True."
Driven by the film-related products, sales of the workshop's other brocade items have also risen, with total sales reaching five to six times the level of the same period last year, Chen said. "In particular, we have attracted many new customers from the younger generation," she added.
Du Yang, from a Shu brocade weaving factory in Chengdu, is in charge of the production of a licensed brooch for the film. Inspired by traditional buttons used on Shu brocade garments, the brooch can be worn with everyday clothing or used as a decorative ornament.
"Bringing our intangible cultural heritage together with the film or other major IPs can help more people become familiar with it," Du said.
According to Chen Qian, who is in charge of the licensed merchandise of the film, the cooperation between the production team and manufacturers of intangible cultural heritage-inspired products is mutually beneficial.
"We hope the film, together with the related merchandise, will offer consumers an immersive experience," she said.
EXPANDING AUDIENCE
This year's summer movie season has so far recorded more than 33.3 million screenings, up about 7 percent year on year, with the number of viewers also rising by about 7 percent. Meanwhile, the average ticket price fell to 36.5 yuan, the lowest level for a summer season in five years.
Behind these figures is an expanding audience base in smaller cities and towns, or what is often referred to as the lower-tier market, which is becoming an increasingly important driver of China's film industry.
Data from Dengta, a major Chinese box office analysis platform, showed that as of Sunday, the total box office in China's third- and fourth-tier cities -- generally referring to middle-sized or relatively less developed cities -- accounted for roughly 36 percent of the country's total summer box office.
According to Chen Jin, an analyst with Dengta, box office revenue in several third- and fourth-tier cities has grown by more than 20 percent year on year during this summer movie season, underscoring the potential of lower-tier markets.
"The lower-tier film market has shifted from the periphery to become a key driver of industry growth," Zhang Yedi, general manager of TV drama and film production firm Omnijoi Media Corporation, said in a published media article earlier this year, citing data showing that third and fourth-tier markets accounted for more than half of this year's Spring Festival box office.
He suggested that sustainable development of China's film industry will have to depend on both the high-end market in metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, and easily accessible cinemas that are expanding in shopping malls and compounds across the country's smaller cities and towns.
According to China Film News, the official newspaper of the China Film Administration, 1,065 cinemas opened in China in 2025, with more than half located in third, fourth and fifth-tier cities, reflecting the market's growing focus on lower-tier areas.
While international blockbusters are still welcomed, observers say the Chinese film market today needs more productions that resonate with people's daily lives and meet their emotional needs, as the industry is struggling for a breakthrough to draw viewers from booming online dramas and short videos.
Industry insiders believe that this summer movie season, by offering the audience a wide range of choices from major blockbusters to down-to-earth comedies, has pointed to a promising second half of the year.
"With a more balanced market and multiple breakthroughs in content quality, we have strong confidence in the film market's performance in the months ahead," Chen Jin said. ■
