China’s box office presales fall over 60% from last year in crucial Lunar New Year window

South China Morning PostEN 1 min read 100% complete by He HuifengFebruary 15, 2026 at 03:00 AM

AI Summary

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China's box office presales for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday have fallen over 60% compared to last year, reaching only 200 million yuan by Saturday. This decline, tracked by Alibaba Pictures' Taopiaopiao, signals potentially lower audience demand for the crucial film season. The Spring Festival season has become a significant driver of China's annual box office revenue, accounting for nearly one-fifth of yearly takings. The high benchmark set by the 2025 season, boosted by the animated film Ne Zha 2, makes matching that success challenging. Analysts suggest the current supply of films for the 2026 Lunar New Year season lacks comparable breakout potential, leading to cautious expectations.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Guan Zhi 40% Ne Zha 2 50% Alibaba Pictures 60% Taopiaopiao 60% Lunar New Year 70% Spring Festival ×370% China ×690%

Keywords

box office 100% lunar new year 90% presales 80% film market 70% holiday season 60% domestic productions 60% film industry 50% china 50% revenue 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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box office lunar new year presales film market holiday season domestic productions film industry china revenue

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