Weekly box office revenue in China October 2024, by movie

In the week between September 30 to October 6, 2024, The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death was the highest-grossing movie in China, generating almost 79 million yuan in box office revenue that week. The second place went to the Bureau 749 around 34.8 million yuan of ticket sales in that week. 

How big is the Chinese cinema market?

With an annual box office revenue of about 7.3 billion U.S. dollars, China rose to the first in terms of global cinema market size in 2021, surpassing the United States and Canada. The proliferation of China’s cinema market coincided with an extensive increase in per capita income. Going to the movies has become a regular part of Chinese leisure activities and consumption, especially among young people. To cope with the demands of an increasingly wealthy population, the number of cinema screens expanded almost five times in the recent decade. 3D movie screens also enjoyed an explosive growth during 2007 and 2018. As of 2018, the number of 3D movie screens operated in China accounting for almost half of the global total.

The struggles of overseas movies

China’s film industry is under direct supervision of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). To protect the local movie industry, only a limited number of foreign movies are allowed to screen in China each year. The quota was set at 34 movies in 2013. Owing to the restriction on foreign films, Hollywood movies are facing more intensive competition against the domestic films. As of January 2024, only one western film remained at the ten highest-grossing movies of all time in China. In fact, foreign movies accounted for about 16 percent of overall ticket sales in the country, showing a gradual downward trend over the recent years.