{"id":221307,"date":"2026-01-05T08:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T08:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/221307\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T08:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T08:37:07","slug":"ne-zha-2-zootopia-2-boost-chinas-box-office-to-7-4-billion-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/221307\/","title":{"rendered":"Ne Zha 2, Zootopia 2 Boost China’s Box Office to $7.4 Billion in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBlockbuster animation drove a major recovery at China<\/a>\u2018s theatrical box office<\/a> in 2025, as ticket revenue surged 20 percent year-over-year to $7.41 billion (51.83 billion RMB) in annual sales. The results represented a strong rebound from 2024, when China\u2019s box office plummeted 23 percent to $5.8 billion.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe outsized impact of animation was unmistakable in 2025\u2019s results, with 57 animated features generating $3.57 billion (25 billion RMB) in revenue \u2014 nearly half the year\u2019s sales \u2014 according to data from Maoyan Entertainment\u2019s research division. The biggest domestic Chinese hit and Hollywood import were both massive animated blockbusters: Ne Zha 2<\/a> earned a record-smashing $2.13 billion during China\u2019s Lunar New Year in January, and Disney\u2019s Zootopia 2<\/a> closed out the year in December with $558.3 million. Both blockbusters benefited from strong fan engagement and higher-than-average repeat viewing rates, according to Maoyan. Other animated standouts included local hit Nobody \u2014 about 1.76 billion RMB ($245 million) \u2014 and anime sensation Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which brought in 675 million RMB ($95.6 million) before disappearing from theaters early amid geopolitical tensions between China and Japan.<\/p>\n

\n\tLocal Chinese films continued their strength in the home market, taking 79.67 percent of the total pie in 2025 \u2014 about one percentage point higher than a year earlier \u2014 while Hollywood titles and Japanese anime represented the bulk of the remaining roughly 20 percent.<\/p>\n

\n\tOverall attendance improved alongside revenue. Total moviegoing admissions rose to 1.24 billion, representing growth of more than 20 percent year-over-year. The expansion was strongest in China\u2019s third- and fourth-tier cities \u2014 the country\u2019s vast and still-maturing suburban and regional markets \u2014 which have now posted three consecutive years of rising box office share. The proportion of first-time and infrequent patrons also increased, widening the base of occasional theatergoers and contributing meaningfully to national totals. That expansion allowed a handful of breakouts to vault past forecasts and carry entire holiday corridors.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the market was also more worryingly top-heavy than ever. According to Maoyan, four films cleared the symbolic 3 billion-yuan threshold ($425 million) and eight topped 1 billion yuan ($142 million). Beneath those towering releases, however, the middle hollowed out further. The number of titles earning in the 100 million\u2013500 million yuan range \u2014 historically the proving ground for rising filmmakers and sleeper hits \u2014 shrank for another year.<\/p>\n

\n\tHollywood films delivered mixed results. Disney\u2019s Zootopia 2 performed strongly, as did Avatar: Fire and Ash to a lesser degree (currently at $136 million). But superhero franchises continued to slow, reinforcing signs that legacy comic-book properties require a new approach to sustain appeal among Chinese audiences, according to Maoyan\u2019s analysts. MCU releases performed meekly \u2014 Captain America: Brave New World ($14.4 million), Thunderbolts ($16 million), The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($5.6 million) \u2014 and even DC\u2019s marquee hit of the year, Superman, brought in just $8.9 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tUniversal\u2019s strongest performer in China last year was Jurassic World: Rebirth, which grossed about $79 million, while Warner Bros.\u2019 best outing was F1: The Movie at roughly $59.2 million. Paramount\u2019s top title was Mission: Impossible \u2014 The Final Reckoning, earning $64.5 million. <\/p>\n

\n\tOn the domestic side, filmmakers moved away from spectacle toward grounded stories reflecting everyday life, while employing varied visual styles and genres. War hits like Dead to Rights and Evil Unbound, which earned $431 million (3.1 billion RMB) and $270 million (1.94 billion RMB), respectively, won over audiences with more intimate, human-scale narratives rather than sweeping, heroic sagas.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Maoyan\u2019s estimate, China contributed just under 24 percent of the 2025 global box office total, trailing only North America, which accounted for about 29 percent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blockbuster animation drove a major recovery at China\u2018s theatrical box office in 2025, as ticket revenue surged 20…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[337,1239,1657,146,85,399,46,397,113933,93553],"class_list":{"0":"post-221307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-asia","9":"tag-box-office","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-international","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-movies","16":"tag-ne-zha-2","17":"tag-zootopia-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}