{"id":341225,"date":"2025-12-11T07:44:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T07:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/341225\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T07:44:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T07:44:12","slug":"chinas-animation-boom-drives-box-office-surge-at-cineasia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/341225\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Animation Boom Drives Box Office Surge at CineAsia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs delegates from China<\/a>\u2019s film<\/a> industry gathered in Bangkok for this year\u2019s CineAsia (Dec. 8-11), they carried with them something that had been in short supply the past few years: momentum. A revitalized box office and an expectations-heavy holiday slate have given the sector reason to look ahead with something close to optimism.<\/p>\n

\n\tBack home, headlines have been dominated for weeks by Disney\u2019s Zootopia 2<\/a> and its record-breaking run, with around $430 million \u2014 and counting \u2014 in takings for a non-local animated film. China\u2019s 2025 box office surpassed last year\u2019s $5.8 billion total in early October, and the final tally is expected to far exceed 2024 once the performances of Zootopia 2 and the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash (December 19) are factored in.<\/p>\n

\n\tZootopia 2\u2019s success is the latest boost to what has been a landmark year for animation<\/a> in China. The trend was ignited in January by Beijing Enlight Media\u2019s Ne Zha 2<\/a>, now the highest-grossing animated film of all time globally with more than $2 billion. Other hits, including Shanghai Animation Film Studio\u2019s Nobody ($215 million) and Light Chaser Animation\u2019s Curious Tales of a Temple ($30 million), have further strengthened the sector.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tEnlight Media\u2019s Ne Zha 2 is the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking in more than $2 billion at the global box office.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of A24<\/p>\n

\n\tUnsurprisingly, the mood around the China Film Pavilion at CineAsia has been upbeat. All three of those Chinese animated titles are among the 200 productions showcased this week as the pavilion makes its Bangkok debut, following similar showings at international<\/a> festivals and markets from Cannes to Hong Kong throughout 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe initiative, hosted by the China Film Co-production Corporation (CFCC) under the guidance of the China Film Administration, aims to highlight current trends in Chinese cinema \u2014 including the surge in animation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Chinese film market has seen the steady and strong growth of animated films over the past decade, since Monkey King is Back in 2015,\u201d explains Light Chaser Animation president and co-founder Yu Zhou. \u201cThese animated films have presented the audiences different story genres, various artistic styles and high production quality, appealing to all age groups. Thus, animated film has become a mainstream film category.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe creative boom is only part of the story \u2014 demographic trends have played an equally important role.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOn the other hand,\u201d adds Yu, \u201cthe main moviegoers [aged 20-35] have grown up watching Japanese, American and Chinese animation, so it\u2019s a natural move for them to choose animated films. Also, animated films bring much stronger derivative business opportunities such as merchandising and even theme parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney tapped into this potential early, opening a Zootopia-themed section at its Shanghai park in 2023\u2014 the only one of its kind \u2014 after the first film grossed more than $230 million in China in 2016. This year, Zootopia 2 has arrived to find a Chinese industry that has rapidly expanded its revenue streams in response to post-pandemic dips in audience numbers.<\/p>\n

\n\tState media recently reported around 14,000 co-branded merchandising tie-ins for Zootopia 2, many of them linked to the booming \u201cblind box\u201d trend, in which consumers purchase sealed collectible toy boxes without knowing which item is inside.<\/p>\n

\n\tWanda Films has been deeply involved, building commercial tie-ins and promotions into its strategy to transform its roughly 700 Wanda Cinemas into full-fledged entertainment hubs<\/a>. The global film industry is taking notice: Just last week, Wanda Film signed an MOU with Imax to \u201ccollaborate on merchandise development, brand-driven IP initiatives, and retail programs, leveraging their extensive nationwide networks as sales channels to connect with wider audiences,\u201d according to state media.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond animation, the China Film Pavilion is spotlighting major releases such as Shen Ao\u2019s World War II drama Dead to Rights, the country\u2019s international Oscar submission, and the musical drama A Tapestry of a Legendary Land. The latter is billed by Chinese film officials as an example of the nation\u2019s increasingly diverse content, \u201cadapted from a popular stage dance drama that showcases the poetic beauty of China\u2019s traditional culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tShen Ao\u2019s Dead to Rights \u2014 China\u2019s official international Oscar submission \u2014 was one of the films spotlighted at the China Film Pavilion at CineAsia in Bangkok this week.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChina Film Co.<\/p>\n

\n\tMore than 70 Chinese film companies are represented at the pavilion, including China Film Group Corporation, CMC Pictures, Lianray Pictures, the China Film Archive and the China Film Foundation. CFCC is also sharing updates on \u201cimport and co-production policies\u201d and facilitating connections between international filmmakers and Chinese partners.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne promising area for collaboration is virtual reality. A dedicated VR zone within the pavilion features previews of productions including Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mulan 2125.<\/p>\n

\n\tOfficially, the pavilion aims to \u201cfacilitate international film transactions, solidify Sino-foreign cinematic partnerships, and boost cultural appreciation within the global industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat mission, organizers say, is only the beginning.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn the future, the pavilion will continue to widen international exchange and cooperation, supporting Chinese film companies and their works in becoming an integral part of global cinema,\u201d a CFCC spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Yu and the Light Chaser Animation team, the pavilion offers a chance to reach new audiences, just as it does for their peers across the global industry.<\/p>\n

\n\tCurious Tales of a Temple \u2014 which weaves together six different supernatural stories based on the classic Qing Dynasty book\u00a0Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio \u2014\u00a0continues the studio\u2019s run of animated successes, including 2023\u2019s Chang\u2019an ($250 million). Light Chaser now plans to expand from releasing one feature annually to two\u2014a shift Yu says reflects growing confidence across China\u2019s film sector as it works its way back toward pre-pandemic highs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCurious Tales of a Temple was the 10th film of Light Chaser in its 10-year run with one film out each year since 2016,\u201d says Yu. \u201c2026 will be a milestone year for us as we start to release one film every six months and we think Chinese cinema will also grow stronger in 2026 after two challenging years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As delegates from China\u2019s film industry gathered in Bangkok for this year\u2019s CineAsia (Dec. 8-11), they carried with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1840,1724,64,63,512,134,1689,3389,344,104897,189539],"class_list":{"0":"post-341225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-animation","9":"tag-asia","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-china","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-film","15":"tag-international","16":"tag-movies","17":"tag-thr-news","18":"tag-world-lens-cfcc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}