A cinema in East China's Jiangsu Province Photo: VCG

 China's National Day film season has kicked off with early pre-sales surpassing 100 million yuan ($14 million), setting the stage for a competitive eight-day holiday period dominated by sequels and diverse genres, according to industry data and film experts.  

As of Monday night, pre-sales and limited screenings for the holiday period had already exceeded 100 million yuan, with Sound of Silence, A Writer's Odyssey II, and The Volunteers: Peace at Last, leading the box office rankings, according to Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan. 

Film expert Chen Jin told the Global Times that the season features over a dozen new releases, spanning genres from historical war epics to fantasy adventures and crime thrillers, reflecting a trend toward franchise filmmaking and audience-specific targeting.  

IP-driven sequels have emerged as a dominant force in the market, noted market analyst Lai Li. 

"Franchise films and IP extensions have become the mainstream this season," Lai told the Global Times. 

For example, The Volunteers: Peace at Last, the finale of Chinese director Chen Kaige's war trilogy, has drawn attention for its focus on the final stages of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53), blending battlefield action with diplomatic negotiations. 

The series' first two installments collectively grossed over 2 billion yuan, cementing its audience base. 

Focused on the "fight-while-negotiate" phase after the fifth campaign of the war, the film depicts fierce battles alongside diplomatic strategy at the negotiation table. 

"From National Day 2023 to this year, we spent three years presenting the arduous three-year war to the nation," Fu Ruoqing, the film's chief producer, supervisor and distributor, said at its Beijing premiere on Saturday. "We have achieved our original goal of portraying the epic historical process of the war through cinema."

Meanwhile, A Writer's Odyssey II, a fantasy action sequel to the 2021 Spring Festival hit, leads in premium-format screenings. 

Its first-day IMAX screenings are scheduled for 753 sessions, the highest among all current releases, with strong pre-sales in lower-tier cities, indicating broad demographic appeal, according to Chinese ticketing platform Beacon. 

"This year's lineup demonstrates maturity in genre diversity and industrial standardization," said Chen. "Films like The Volunteers: Peace at Last cater to older audiences, while A Writer's Odyssey II attracts younger viewers."  

Beyond the top contenders, other films are carving out niche segments. Row to Win, a comedy starring Huang Bo, appeals to urban youth, while Three Kingdoms: Starlit Heroes, a historical animation, has attracted interest from women over 35. Crime thrillers like Sons of the Neon Night and The Return of the Lame Hero target regional audiences with star-studded casts.  

Notably, Sound of Silence, a crime drama starring Tan Jianci, will open on October 4 but has already climbed to the top of pre-sales charts, underscoring strong early demand.  

The holiday roster also includes a re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water on October 3, offering Hollywood-scale spectacle amid a largely domestic lineup.  

The robust pre-sales follow a strong September, boosted by the performance of Evil Unbound themed on Unit 731, a notorious Japanese germ-warfare unit created during World War II, which earned 1.48 billion yuan after its mid-month release. 

Industry experts noted that war-themed films will remain a staple choice for audiences during the National Day period, which commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China.

As China's film market approaches the key National Day period, all eyes are on whether this year's blend of legacy IPs and genre innovation will meet the high expectations of an increasingly segmented audience.  

Lai cited in earlier reports, emphasized that franchise films benefit from built-in audience recognition but must still deliver quality to sustain performance. "Series films have natural advantages in awareness, but word-of-mouth and content quality remain decisive," he noted.