According to the Lighthouse Professional Edition data, as of 13:34 on July 14, the total box office (including pre-sales) of the 2024 summer season (June 1-August 31) surpassed 4 billion yuan. As of the time of writing, the box office has exceeded 4.2 billion yuan. "Mo Sha", "A Small Shop at the Edge of the Clouds", and "Catch Dolls" are currently the top three at the box office.

According to the Lighthouse Professional Edition, 103 films have been scheduled for the 2024 summer season in mainland China, with a very abundant supply of films in the middle and late July. Among the scheduled films, there are 35 feature films, 20 animated films, 7 documentaries, 6 action films and comedy films, 5 romance films, and 4 youth films.

"Catch Dolls", starring Shen Teng and Ma Li, is the hottest film in the summer season. On July 13, "Catch Dolls" opened in advance screenings and became the daily champion with a box office of 0.156 billion yuan, with an overall box office of 0.3 billion yuan. This is not only the first 0.3 billion yuan box office since the summer season, but also the first time in 70 days the box office has exceeded 0.3 billion yuan.

According to the Lighthouse Professional Edition data, on that day, "Catch Dolls" had about 30% of the screen share and more than 50% of the box office, with an average attendance of 26.1 people per session and an occupancy rate of 17.3%, all higher than other new films during the same period, demonstrating the film's strong box office appeal.

The film is produced by Xi Hongshi Film and Television, Wanda Film, Kuaishou MaHua Film, RuYi Film, Alibaba Pictures, China Film, and other companies, and is jointly produced by companies such as New Classics Media, Maoyan Entertainment, Hengdian Film and Television, Penguin Pictures, and Youku. It is understood that "Catch Dolls" is directed by Yan Fei and Peng Damo, and their previous works "Dying to Survive" and "Hello Mr. Billionaire" have achieved impressive results.

Looking back on last year's summer season, under the drive of multiple hit films such as "One Second", "She Comes Back" and "The Enigma of Arrival", the box office exceeded 20.6 billion yuan, setting a new record for the same period in Chinese film history.

However, no hit films have appeared this summer season. But from the current trend, "Catch Dolls" has all the elements to become a hit, and by the time it officially opens on July 16, the box office may experience a strong surge. The latest box office forecast for "Catch Dolls", which continues to ferment good word of mouth, is expected to challenge the 4 billion yuan mark.

"The Enigma of Arrival" and "Rite of Passage" are also important highlights of the summer season, in addition to "Catch Dolls". "The Enigma of Arrival" is directed by Chen Sicheng and stars Liu Haoran, John Cusack and other well-known actors. It is adapted from Ma Jia's novel of the same name and tells the story of Rong Jinzhen, a mathematical genius who fought secretly in a hidden battlefield all his life.

"Rite of Passage" is directed by Xu Zheng, starring Xu Zheng, Xin Zhilei, Wang Xiao and guest starring Jia Bing. This is also the return of Xu Zheng to the summer season with real-life themes after a gap of six years. "Rite of Passage" tells the story of Gao Zhilei, a middle-level manager at a large factory, who was laid off and turned to be a delivery man to make a living. Delivery man is only a profession, but the movie focuses more on their life stories, how they face the hardships in their lives, and how they move forward against the wind to rescue themselves from danger countless times.

Minsheng Securities pointed out that the film box office market continued to heat up under the influence of new films such as "Mo Sha" and "Catch Dolls" during the summer season. High-quality head films are expected to continue to stimulate the demand for viewing, promote steady growth in the box office and moviegoers. It is recommended to focus on the film production companies, film distribution companies, and ticketing companies, including Wanda Film, Bona Film, Maoyan Entertainment, Alibaba Pictures, Omnijoi Media Corporation, Hengdian Entertainment, Shanghai Film, China Ruyi, China Literature, and China Film.

Related concept stocks:

Maoyan Entertainment (01896): As a leading online ticketing platform, domestic film distributor, and internet entertainment comprehensive marketing platform, Maoyan Entertainment's layout encompasses the upstream and downstream of the industry. The company controlled many films during the Spring Festival, Labor Day and summer seasons, and the company's publicity service capabilities and market coverage have been further enhanced. In 2023, the company's online entertainment ticketing business achieved revenue of 2.26 billion yuan, an increase of 111.5% year-on-year, maintaining its leading position in the market and consolidating its competitiveness.

Alibaba Pictures (01060): Alibaba Pictures launched the Jincheng Joint-Creation Plan special content unit "Chinese Epic", and the launch of 7 Chinese epic films demonstrates both the confidence and strength. "Under the Weird" "Rite of Passage" "Burning City" "Bodyguard" "Dongji Island" "Stars Shine" "Catch the Special Agent" 7 diverse films with a variety of themes have been unveiled one by one.

After creating a series of hit TV dramas such as "Hot and Spicy", "With Fung Hang" and "Joy of Life Season 2", China Literature is attempting to leverage the momentum of these hits to further amplify the value of their content.

China Ruyi (00136): Acquired Ai Entertainment, a subsidiary of ByteDance that shrank its gaming business. In 2023, China Ruyi's revenue from gaming business increased by seven times. In addition to launching multiple games online, it also cannot do without the support of the second shareholder, Tencent. Even the acquired Ai Entertainment has close ties with Tencent. While expanding its gaming business, China Ruyi intends to explore the linkage between movies and games, and plans to cooperate its gaming business with the company's film and television business.

IMAX China (01970): IMAX Corp. signed an agreement with Wanda Film Holding to upgrade and increase more screens in China, which is the latter's second-largest market in terms of sales. Known for its huge screen, Rich Gelfond, the CEO of the company, said in an interview that in the next three years, IMAX will open as many as 25 new locations in China and renovate or refurbish 100 existing locations for a longer period of time. Meanwhile, Gelfond expects more Hollywood movies to be released in China this year, surpassing the 41 movies screened last year, and 25 movies in 2022.

Huanxi Media (01003): The movie "Jiang Yuan Nong" officially announced that it was shortlisted for the non-competition unit of the 77th Cannes International Film Festival. It is reported that the film has been in preparation for seven years and has been highly anticipated since its announcement in 2016. According to public information, "Jiang Yuan Nong" is produced by Huanxi Media Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin Maoyan Weying Culture Media Co., Ltd., China Film Co., Ltd. Among them, Huanxi Media achieved a revenue of 1.333 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2023, a significant increase of 97 times.