China Box Office Hits Record $1.3 Billion Over Lunar New Year, Imax Also Scales New Highs

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During the Lunar New Year celebration, which ended on February 4, China’s film market recorded its highest ever revenue, raking in approximately $1.31 billion (RMB 9.51 billion) at the box office. This was based on a report from the Maoyan Research Institute and indicates that a total of 187 million tickets were sold during this timeframe, setting a new record for ticket sales during this particular period.

The number easily surpassed the 2024 record of $1.09 billion.

This past Lunar New Year marked a new peak for Imax, raking in a total of $53 million at the box office, which represents a significant jump of 57% compared to its previous best of $34 million in 2023. The premium cinema provider recorded its highest-ever holiday attendance, as an impressive 5.5 million moviegoers chose to enjoy their films on Imax screens.

As a movie enthusiast, it was “Ne Zha 2” from Enlight Media that truly took center stage during this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations, outperforming all others by raking in an astonishing $665.7 million. This makes it the highest-grossing title for the Lunar New Year ever! Interestingly, its sequel to the 2019 blockbuster animated film also set a new record in Imax theaters, with a whopping $36 million earnings. To put this into perspective, its opening weekend on Imax generated an incredible $22 million, marking the biggest debut for any animated movie in the format to date.

Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, stated that the Chinese New Year brought about an extraordinary boost in cinema attendance, shattering numerous Imax records worldwide. This surge serves as a significant energy injection for the movie industry in China, perfectly timed with an upcoming schedule filled with both locally produced and Hollywood films for 2025.

Following “Ne Zha 2”, “Detective Chinatown 1900” continued to impress with a massive earnings of $313.2 million, making it the first Chinese film IP to surpass RMB10 billion (about $1.37 billion) in total revenue, a significant milestone. The Alibaba production “Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force” secured the third position with earnings of $137.2 million, and Bona’s maritime thriller “Operation Hadal” garnered $2.7 million in Imax screenings.

Throughout the holidays, Imax managed to outperform expectations, capturing a significant 4.3% share of the entire market despite only possessing 1% of the nation’s screens. This format also concluded the festival period with an impressive single-day earnings of $7.2 million, suggesting that its lineup is maintaining strong momentum.

According to Daniel Manwaring, CEO of Imax China, the audience’s message is unequivocal: Imax is their preferred choice. Leveraging a stronger-than-ever audience preference, Imax has elevated moviegoing to a cultural experience and a hot topic for conversation. We highly appreciate their brand loyalty and are optimistic that we can sustain this momentum during what promises to be an exceptionally strong year for Chinese local language films.

2025 Lunar New Year movies seem to be leaning more towards established intellectual properties (IPs), as all newly released films during that period were either sequels or adaptations of popular large-scale IP films. This trend suggests a strong draw at the box office.

Building on the triumph of Lunar New Year, Imax is expanding its lineup of locally produced films worldwide. Recently, “Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force” and “Detective Chinatown 1900” premiered in Imax cinemas across 11 different nations, earning over $1.2 million abroad. Commencing February 6, “Ne Zha 2” will be shown in Imax theaters in Australia and New Zealand.

The Lunar New Year screenings are scheduled to persist in the region over the coming month, coinciding with blockbusters from Hollywood such as Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World” and the re-released classic “In the Mood for Love” directed by Wong Kar-wai.

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2025-02-05 18:47