According to Cai Lian News on December 24 (Reporter Cui Ming), the 2024 film market has entered the sprint stage. As this year's last major release period, the New Year's slot has currently exceeded 2.1 billion yuan in box office revenue, with the film "Good Things" leading the period with a box office of 0.664 billion yuan.

Looking back at this year's film market, several key release periods in the first half of the year, including the Spring Festival and May Day slots, achieved good box office results. Especially the Spring Festival slot started strongly with a box office of 8.016 billion yuan, setting a new box office record for the Spring Festival slot. However, as the second half of the year began, the summer season cooled down, and the National Day slot was mediocre, leading to weak performance in the Large Cap. The lack of blockbuster films and low viewing willingness have become serious challenges facing the Industry.

As of the time of writing, the total box office for China Film Co., Ltd. in 2024 has reached 41.696 billion yuan, which represents a significant gap compared to last year's total of 54.915 billion yuan. Industry insiders have told Cai Lian News reporters that although this year's film Large Cap trajectory appears lackluster, facing multiple challenges, there remains a generally positive outlook for the 2025 Spring Festival slot with the recovery of production capacity and scheduling of major films, as well as a bullish view on the long-term development of the film market.

2024 box office exceeds 41 billion, the New Year's slot enters the sprint stage.

As 2024 approaches its end, the performance of the New Year's slot will determine the final figure for the annual box office.

According to data from MAOYAN ENT's professional version, as of the time of writing, the 2024 New Year's slot (November 22 to December 31) has surpassed 2.1 billion yuan in box office revenue (including pre-sales). Among them, the highly praised film "Good Things," produced by Shanghai Film Group and co-released by Shanghai Film (601595.SH), ranks first with a box office of 0.664 billion yuan. The film "破·地狱" produced by ALI PICTURES and "误判" produced by Zhejiang Huace Film & TV (300133.SZ) rank second and third, with box office revenues of 0.143 billion yuan and 0.142 billion yuan respectively.

Market Analyst Laili from MAOYAN ENT told Cai Lian News reporters that this year's New Year's slot shows a relatively flat performance. Although the screened films have received quite favorable reviews, their quantity, genre, and subject matter are quite diverse, the overall market performance remains rather average.

With just one week left until the end of the holiday season, there are still quite a few new films that have not been released. Among them, the reality-themed film "The Little Me," produced by China Film Co., Ltd. (600977.SH) and co-invested by Hengdian Entertainment (603103.SH), has been moved up to be released on December 27; the crime suspense film "Murder 3," produced and distributed by Wanda Film Holding (002739.SZ), is scheduled for December 28. Additionally, two comedy films, "Cheating You Like Me" and "Bright Moon by the Bed, Bang!" will also be released during the New Year period.

Industry insiders have told Caixin reporters that, comparatively speaking, the aforementioned films for the New Year period are relatively substantial and have a certain audience base, hoping these films can add some fire to the overall box office in this year's holiday season.

Notably, the classic Japanese animated film "Detective Conan: The Crossroads in the Labyrinth," which was released 21 years ago, will be re-released in 4K HD on December 27, joining the competition for the holiday season. In fact, several classic imported films have already been re-released domestically this year, with the number of imported films showing in domestic theaters exceeding 100.

Among these imported films, Hollywood films no longer hold an absolute position, and several Hollywood blockbusters have underperformed at the box office. In contrast, Japanese animated films have achieved remarkable performance in the mainland market, with the Japanese animated film "What Kind of Life Do You Want to Live?" released during the Tomb-Sweeping period reaching nearly 0.8 billion yuan at the box office, far exceeding its box office performance in Japan, to some extent compensating for the box office gap left by Hollywood films in the mainland market.

The aforementioned industry insiders noted that imported films remain an important component of the domestic market, playing a significant role in enhancing market diversity, promoting market vitality, and contributing to box office during low seasons.

Overall, it seems that this year's film market lacks a relative number of major blockbusters, leading to a decline in the overall box office. However, despite the challenges faced by the film market, progress continues amidst fluctuations.

Expectations are high for the 2025 Spring Festival season; leading listed film companies are pulling out all the stops.

Over the past year, the box office output of the film market has increasingly concentrated on major time slots, a trend particularly evident.

According to data from MAOYAN ENT Professional Edition, as of the time of writing, the total box office of China Film Co., Ltd. in 2024 has reached 41.696 billion yuan, with approximately 28% contributed by the summer season and about 20% from the Spring Festival.

An industry insider told a reporter from Cai Lian She that "due to the large market capacity and long timespan of major seasons, along with their compatibility with large blockbuster films, there is naturally a strong ability to generate box office revenue. At the same time, the family-friendly characteristics of the Spring Festival also help to increase the number of moviegoers."

However, this year, major periods such as the summer season and National Day showed relatively weak box office performance compared to last year. This indicates that even in major periods, it is necessary to have sufficiently rich and high-quality content to attract audiences to theaters in order to promote sustained market prosperity.

According to a reporter from Cai Lian She, there are high expectations for the Spring Festival next year; as of now, five films have been scheduled for the 2025 Spring Festival, which are "Ne Zha: The Devil Child of the Sea," "The Investiture of the Gods: Part II - The War of Western Qi," "Detective Chinatown 1900," "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero," and "Boonie Bears: Rebooting the Future," and the lineup can be considered luxurious.

Behind this is a "trump card" thrown by multiple listed companies. Among them, "Ne Zha: The Devil Child of the Sea" is mainly invested and distributed by Beijing Enlight Media (300251.SZ) and is a sequel involving the same team that created the 5 billion box office miracle of "Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child." The film "The Investiture of the Gods: Part II - The War of Western Qi," produced by Beijing Jingxi Culture & Tourism (000802.SZ) and ALI PICTURES, continues the production team of the previous film "The Investiture of the Gods: Part I - The Song of Chaoge" and is highly anticipated in the market due to its gorgeous visual effects. Wanda Film Holding's (Wanda Film) investment in "Detective Chinatown 1900" as a prequel to the "Detective Chinatown" series sparked heated discussions upon its announcement. The films "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero," primarily produced by China Film Co., Ltd., and "Boonie Bears: Rebooting the Future," produced by Huaqiang Fantawild, also have a large audience base. Hengdian Entertainment has invested in both films.

Lai Li informed reporters from Cai Lian She that currently, it appears that these five films are all quite substantial, four of which are significant IP sequels, while Tsui Hark's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is also based on the well-known martial arts novel by Jin Yong. "It can be said that the audience base for these films is very large, and the genres are quite diverse."

"Overall, next year's Spring Festival represents a highly competitive period, and it is hoped that these blockbusters can draw audiences back to theaters, bringing a 'good start' to next year's movie market," Lai Li expressed.