Photo: VCG

China's film market rang in 2026 with a solid box-office performance during the New Year holiday period, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, delivering an encouraging "opening win" for the year.

According to data from ticketing platform Maoyan, China's New Year holiday box office reached 739 million yuan ($103.46 million) as of Saturday, marking a year-on-year increase of 142 percent. The three-day period saw daily nationwide box office revenue exceed 100 million yuan, while total movie attendance reached 18.57 million.

Overall attendance also benefited from a growing trend of celebrating the New Year inside movie theaters. On December 31, a total of 5.38 million tickets were sold, showing that many people chose to ring in the New Year with a cinematic experience, Lai Li, a market analyst at Maoyan, told the Global Times.

Imported blockbusters Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash were the primary drivers of the holiday's commercial success, accounting for more than half of total box-office revenue during the period. 

As Sunday, Zootopia 2 had grossed 4.245 billion yuan at the Chinese mainland box office, closing in on the all-time imported film record of 4.25 billion yuan held by Avengers: Endgame.

This New Year holiday, traditionally viewed as a warm-up for the lucrative Spring Festival season, featured a wide array of new domestic releases spanning suspense, action, romance, comedy, animation and fantasy. 

Among domestic releases, suspense thriller The Fire Raven, time-travel film Back to the Past and realism-driven drama Escape From The Outland ranked as the top three new releases in box-office revenue during the holiday period.

The Fire Raven is a crime thriller centered on a cold case that resurfaces 15 years later. A film adaptation of the classic Hong Kong television drama, Back to the Past features the return of its original cast, including Louis Koo, Joyce Tang, Sonija Kwok and Jessica Suen Huen.

Data from Maoyan shows that Back to the Past attracted a disproportionately older audience. Viewers aged 30 and above accounted for a particularly high share, with those over 40 making up more than 35 percent of its audience. Male moviegoers represented more than 57 percent of the film's audience, the highest among all holiday releases.

Geographically, the film performed especially well in first-tier cities and southern China. South China's Guangdong Province alone accounted for nearly 30 percent of its total audience, far exceeding other New Year releases.

"These figures clearly demonstrate the strong drawing power of the IP, particularly among older viewers and audiences with an affinity for Hong Kong productions," noted Lai.

Directed by Shen Ao, Escape From The Outland tells a story about hostages who engineer their own escape and rescue within 105 days. 

In addition, Jackie Chan stars in Unexpected Family, which was released on Thursday. The lighthearted comedy follows an elderly landlord and his tenants who, through a series of mix-ups, come together to form an unlikely family.

Still, the overall New Year box office surge was largely fueled by the staying power of Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash, both of which had already been in theaters prior to the holiday.

These two films accounted for over 55 percent of the total box office during the holiday and ranked first and second at the daily box office for three consecutive days, according to Lai. Zootopia 2 alone surpassed 100 million yuan in single-day box-office revenue on New Year's Day, while Avatar: Fire and Ash earned more than 80 million yuan that same day.

"This fully shows the strong box-office appeal and long-tail effect of high-quality films," added Lai.

"Once again, the data underscores a clear reality: The New Year slot is governed by word of mouth," Shi Wenxue, a veteran film critic, told the Global Times on Sunday. As new releases lacked strong buzz, Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash naturally emerged as the safest and most cost-effective choices for audiences.

While the New Year holiday box office gave the industry a welcome morale boost at the start of 2026, Shi cautioned that the overall showing of new releases fell short of expectations.

"The New Year holiday box office exceeded expectations and delivered a positive signal for the year ahead," Lai said. "However, the relatively modest performance of new releases has prompted reflection within the industry."

The sustained success of Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash, he added, shows that the audience's demand for high-quality content remains strong, but the film market as a whole must still rely on new releases to generate momentum and drive growth.

"Consistently producing new, high-quality content that appeals to diverse audience tastes while   maintaining both quality and commercial appeal will be key to sustaining long-term growth and vitality in the film market," Lai remarked.