INDUSTRY BRIEF: China’s box office barely grows over May Day holiday
China’s box office grew by an anemic 1.4% to 758 million yuan ($111 million) during this year’s five-day May Day holiday, extending a streak of sluggish performances for the country’s film industry during recent holiday periods.
Theaters recorded 20.9 million visits during the holiday period this year, up 10% from 2025, Caixin reported on Wednesday, citing data from ticketing platform Maoyan. But the average ticket price dropped 8% to 36.3 yuan this year from 39.5 yuan in 2025, offsetting most of the gains from higher movie attendance.
The weak growth may have owed partly to a reduced lineup of new films released during the latest period. Eighteen new films were originally set to premiere during the holiday. But several abruptly postponed their plans, resulting in only 12 movies getting released.
Only two films surpassed the 100 million yuan mark during the holiday, including “Vanishing Point,” which led with 260 million yuan; and “Cold War 1994,” which generated 200 million yuan.
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