China’s Lunar New Year box office hits 6-year low as releases fall flat

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Mia NurmamatFebruary 24, 2026 at 10:30 AM

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China's Lunar New Year box office experienced its weakest performance since 2020, generating 5.75 billion yuan (US$831 million) during the nine-day holiday. This represents a nearly 40% drop from the record 9.51 billion yuan earned last year. The decline is attributed to the absence of major blockbuster films, despite six new releases across various genres. Cinema attendance also fell by 45.5% compared to the previous year, with a slight decrease in average ticket prices. While the Lunar New Year is typically a crucial period for China's film industry, this year's performance failed to reach even 2018 levels, marking a significant downturn.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Dengta Data ×270% Lunar New Year ×585% China ×490%

Keywords

lunar new year box office 100% china 90% film industry 70% box office takings 70% movie releases 60% holiday season 50% cinema attendance 50% dengta data 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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lunar new year box office china film industry box office takings movie releases holiday season cinema attendance dengta data

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