On January 1, Maoyan Research Institute released the "2025 China Film Market Data Insight" (hereinafter referred to as the "Insight"). The report indicates that the Chinese film market in 2025 demonstrated positive momentum amidst structural adjustments, with blockbuster films driving growth and strong IP films providing additional impetus. However, the Chinese film market still possesses room for further development. Maoyan Research Institute believes that, in the face of evolving market conditions and audience preferences, a new equilibrium must be established among genre maturity, emotional resonance capability, and market sustainability.
From an overall performance perspective, the Chinese film market experienced a significant recovery in 2025, influenced by multiple factors. The annual total box office reached 51.832 billion yuan, with total cinema attendance hitting 1.238 billion人次; both figures represent increases of over 20% compared to the previous year. Various annual market data and user demographics were substantially influenced by the performance of the single film "Nezha: The Devil's Child Stirring the Sea."
Analyzing box office distribution, the film market in 2025 underwent gradual structural adjustments alongside the recovery in scale. Among the annual top 10 highest-grossing new films, four surpassed 3 billion yuan, and eight exceeded 1 billion yuan. The proportion of annual box office revenue contributed by domestic films was slightly higher than the previous year, and the number of new domestic films earning over 1 billion yuan remained steady. However, the cumulative number of domestic films in the 100-500 million yuan and 500 million-1 billion yuan brackets saw a significant year-on-year decline, indicating the persistent issue of "high concentration at the top and a collapsed mid-tier."
In the 2025 film market, animated films emerged as one of the most notable highlights. Data shows that the number of animated film releases has remained generally stable over the past three years. Driven by key titles such as "Nezha: The Devil's Child Stirring the Sea" and "Zootopia 2," the total box office for animated films in 2025 achieved leapfrog growth. Fifty-seven films collectively contributed over 25 billion yuan in box office revenue, significantly impacting the annual box office structure.