Research corporation Maoyan Entertainment reported Monday that the China box office finaled at RMB 51.832 billion, or $7.47 billion, in 2025, up 20% over 2024’s take. The year was largely driven by the highest-grossing animated movie ever, Ne Zha 2, which minted $2.12 billion, but also by Disney’s Zootopia 2 which this morning the No. 1 MPA release in the Middle Kingdom with $601.6M, ahead of Avengers: Endgame.
Admissions in China came in at 1.24 billion for the year.
Maoyan says that 57 animation titles generated RMB 25B, or $3.6 billion, thanks to IP-driven titles.
The report also adds that top films dominated as mid-tier titles struggled. Four in the top 10 exceeded RMB 3B ($432.6M), and eight clicked past RMB 1B ($144M+); local films drove the majority of the box office. Titles grossing more than RMB 1B ($144M+) remain unchanged, but movies earning in mid-range box office brackets (RMB 100 million–500 million and RMB 500 million–1 billion) “saw a marked decline in numbers, underscoring the market’s increasing concentration on blockbuster projects” per the report.
Box office shares from third- and fourth-tier cities were up for three consecutive years, with 2025 hitting a five-year high. “The proportion of first-time and infrequent moviegoers also rose, expanding both the reach and depth of cinema consumption, making these markets a key source for incremental growth across the industry,” adds the report’s release, which dinged superhero imports as waning. “Superhero titles saw a notable decline, signaling that such IPs require fresh storytelling to sustain market appeal,” the report added.
Maoyan market analyst Lai Li also added that the traditional “blockbuster model” is no longer a guaranteed formula for box office success, offering new lessons for market participants.
Comscore reports that the top five movies in China for 2025 were Ne Zha 2, Zootopia 2 and local titles Detective Chinatown 1900 ($496M), Dead to Rights ($421M) and 731 ($273.1M).
But Hollywood international distribution sources emphasize about China that, sans Ne Zha 2, the China box office was actually down from 2024’s $5.9B at $5.2 billion.