Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

The 2025 summer box office in China closed at 11.966 billion yuan ($1.68 billion), surpassing 2024's figure despite a 1.7 percent drop in screenings and an 8.9 percent decrease in ticket prices. This was driven by a 12.8 percent year-on-year increase in ticket sales and a 1 percent rise in occupancy rates. Leading titles such as Dead to Rights, Nobody, The Shadow's Edge, The Lychee Road, The Legend of Hei 2, and The Stage all posted impressive returns. These results send a clear signal: the era of traffic-driven hits is fading, and the market is returning to a rational, quality-first approach.

In both the economic and cultural history of Chinese cinema, there has long been a "curse"- films may win critical acclaim but miss box-office success, or vice versa. This year's summer season broke that pattern. Except for one unrated film, the average score on review platform Douban for the top nine releases reached 7.9 out of 10. According to the 2025 summer movie market insight report by the box-office tracker Dengta and video sharing platform Douyin, "story" is now the most important factor in moviegoers' decisions, followed by visuals, emotional resonance, word-of-mouth, genre, values, actors, and directors. Notably, over the past decade, these priorities had been inverted, with actor and director popularity (the "IP effect") dominating the market for years.

Back in 2015, the Chinese film industry was captivated by the myth that "Big IP + Traffic Star = 1 Billion Yuan Box Office." "Traffic" refers to quantifiable online popularity, especially on social media, while "Big IP" often meant web novels with huge online followings. Eventually, both concepts became diluted: "traffic stars" didn't have to be professional actors, and "IP" could be almost anything, not just novels. This "traffic first" mentality once shaped the industry, leading to the investment decision-making mantra: "Big IP + Top Traffic Star = Immediate Green Light." At its core, this was capital viewing celebrities as monetizable products, fully embracing the logic of "attention economics" and "fan economy."

A decade later, the 2025 summer season - dominated by high-reputation films - may mark a new milestone or turning point for Chinese cinema. This shift is apparent in several ways:

First, new works by renowned directors under-performed. Peter Chan's She's Got No Name, starring Zhang Ziyi, Wang Chuanjun, Jackson Yee, Zhao Liying, Yang Mi, Lei Jiayin, and Li Xian, had been expected to be a summer blockbuster but ended up with only 375 million yuan at the box office and a disappointing Douban score of 5.7/10, with "mediocre plot" cited most frequently in reviews. Similarly, Jiang Wen's highly anticipated You Are the Best - inspired by Chinese pianist Lang Lang and featuring an all-star cast - grossed just 90 million yuan and received a 6.7 rating, an all-time low for both the director and the season. Rao Xiaozhi's A Cool Fish 2, a sequel to his acclaimed breakout film, also failed to deliver, making only 50 million yuan.

Whether based on historical events, celebrity biographies, or successful earlier works, these projects were considered "IP" goldmines by investors, especially with renowned directors and stars attached. However, their box-office failures and lukewarm audience reception have forced capital investors to reconsider their strategies.

Second, Hollywood's classic IPs have lost their shine. For the Chinese market, this isn't new; Hollywood's "story drought" is a familiar complaint. Franchises once powered Hollywood's global dominance, especially superhero films. Yet in 2025, Superman pulled in just 60 million yuan, a fraction of the 394 million yuan earned by Man of Steel in 2013. The Fantastic 4: First Steps made just 40 million yuan, only slightly better than the 20 million earned by the 2005 film. The Bad Guys 2 grossed 181 million, just 50 percent higher than the original's 2022 take, while Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning managed 464 million yuan, higher than Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning in 2023, but far short of the 1.245 billion yuan of Mission: Impossible - Fallout in 2018.

Hollywood's over-reliance on sequels and effects, neglect of strong narratives, constraints of "political correctness," global market pandering, and risk-averse mindset have all contributed to its deepening creative stagnation.

Third, high-reputation films have become the backbone of the market. It is important to note that commercial cinema will always need IPs and stars. The animated film Nobody is a deconstruction of the classic Journey to the West. The Lychee Road adapts writer Ma ­Boyong's best-selling novel. The Shadow's Edge stars renowned actors Jackie Chan and Tony Leung, while The Stage features celebrated comedians Chen Peisi and Huang Bo. These are all strong commercial draws. However, the real lesson of 2025 is the rational return to the "story first" principle, one that is validated by audiences and vital for both creators and investors. 

A good story has commonly recognized and analyzable qualities: structure, pacing, character arcs, genre elements, emotional resonance, internal logic, thematic depth, and values - all are indispensable.

The author is a screenwriter, director, and film critic