People walk past movie posters at a cinema in Boxing County of Binzhou City, east China's Shandong Province, May 3, 2025. (Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua)

China's summer movie season, which runs from June 1 to August 31, is considered the country's most important film period after the Spring Festival holidays. This year, the season features a lineup of more than 70 domestic and international films, ranging from crime thrillers and historical dramas to animated fantasies and Hollywood imports, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

This year's summer lineup of domestic movies spans a wide range of genres, including historical dramas, suspense, action, comedy and animation, catering to the increasingly diverse tastes of moviegoers.

"This summer season is a showcase for China's animation film industry," Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration, told the Global Times.  

The diverse lineup - from the high-budget Dongji Island and historical drama The Lychee Road to the crime thriller She's Got No Name and several beloved franchise sequels - caters to a wide range of audience tastes, Sun noted.

Grounded in history, Dongji Island, starring Zhu Yilong, recounts the true story of Chinese fishermen rescuing over 300 British prisoners of war in October 1942 after the Japanese transport ship Lisbon Maru was torpedoed and left to sink, despite being secretly packed with more than 1,800 prisoners. The same events were previously explored in Fang Li's acclaimed 2024 documentary, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru.

Comedy remains a genre with mass appeal. Based on a popular novel by Ma Boyong, The Lychee Road is directed by comedian Da Peng, who also stars in the lead role. 

The film follows a Tang Dynasty (618-907) official tasked with the near-impossible mission of transporting fresh lychees - typically perishable within days - on a grueling 2,500-kilometer journey from Lingnan in southern China to the capital, Chang'an. His desperate ingenuity in overcoming the logistical challenge becomes a sharp satire of bureaucratic absurdity.

Zhang Peng, a film researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times that he is particularly looking forward to The Lychee Road. He noted that the "drama-film synergy" model is a potential driver for commercial success.

The film's source material already has a strong fan base, and the TV adaptation has helped build momentum ahead of the theatrical release, said Zhang. "Beyond that, the story itself feels fresh and offers a reflection of real-life workplace dynamics."

She's Got No Name is set for release on Thursday. Directed by Peter Chan and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jackson Yee, Zhao Liying and Lei Jiayin, the highly anticipated noir-tinged thriller is based on a sensational 1945 murder in Shanghai. 

A sharp re-edit of the 150-minute Cannes version that drew polarized responses in 2024, the upcoming release runs 96 minutes and is not promoted as the first installment of a two-part series. Anticipation remains high as Chan spent eight years on the script, rebuilt historic Shanghai alleyways for the shoot, and framed the story through the lens of gendered violence.

In the animation category, titles such as Nobody, Endless Journey of Love and The Legend of Hei 2 promise engaging content for younger audiences during the holiday.

Several high-quality animated films are set for release this summer, reflecting "the strong momentum" of China's animation industry, said Sun. 

"This year's summer season serves as a collective showcase for the country's animated filmmaking sector."

Hollywood titles, despite their waning allure in China, remain an essential piece of the competitive puzzle this summer. Jurassic World Rebirth (July 2) brings back dinosaurs and picks up the story after the events of 2022's Jurassic World: Dominion. The franchise's popularity in China, where each of the three previous entries surpassed 1 billion yuan ($139 million) in box-office takings, makes it one of the few US titles with breakout potential. Other high-profile imports include How to Train Your Dragon (June 13), F1 The Movie starring Brad Pitt (June 27), and James Gunn's Superman (July 11).

From 2017 to 2019, China's summer box office surpassed 16 billion yuan each year. Later, 2023 set an all-time seasonal high of 20.62 billion yuan. However, 2024 saw a steep drop to 11.64 billion yuan.

"With a rich and varied slate of releases, this year's lineup is expected to recreate the relay-style buzz seen with several breakout hits in the summer of 2023 - injecting new energy into China's film market," Sun noted.

Zhang Peng remains "cautiously optimistic" about the overall performance of this year's summer season, predicting that the total box office could surpass 20 billion yuan.