Box Office Falls Short of Expectations
Holiday Boost Continues to Weaken
As China's largest holiday, the National Day Golden Week (October 1-8), begins, patriotic films dealing with topics such as the Korean War have ranked among the top box office hits in local theaters. However, overall box office performance has been weaker than in previous years.
On October 2, China Central Television (CCTV) reported, citing the box office tracking platform Dengta, that as of 12:25 p.m. on the second day of the holiday, National Day box office revenue had reached approximately 500 million yuan (about 98.245 billion won).
This figure is relatively lackluster compared to last year, when box office revenue had already surpassed 490 million yuan by around 8 p.m. on the first day of the National Day holiday. In 2023, total movie ticket sales exceeded 1 billion yuan within just two days of the holiday's start. The so-called 'holiday boost' for theaters appears to be weakening each year.
Amidst this, the films that have performed relatively well are mostly patriotic in nature. The top box office spot was taken by "Support Troops: Bloodthirsty Peace," directed by Chen Kaige. This film is the third and final installment in the "Support Troops" series, depicting the story from the fifth battle of the Korean War, in which Chinese troops participated, up to the signing of the armistice. The first and second installments, previously released during the National Day holidays in 2023 and 2024, also recorded strong box office results.
The second spot went to "Assassin Novelist 2," the sequel to the fantasy action film "Assassin Novelist." In third place was "731," a film about the Japanese Army's Unit 731, which conducted biological warfare and human experimentation during Japan's invasion of China. Since its release on September 18, the anniversary of the Manchurian Incident, the film has continued to attract attention. Local business media outlet Yicai evaluated that so-called 'main melody' films-those centered on themes promoting communist ideology or the nation-still appeal to audiences.
Meanwhile, in the Chinese film market, the National Day holiday is the second-largest season after the Lunar New Year (Spring Festival). Box office sales during this period are considered one of the main indicators of China's domestic economic activity. Yicai analyzed, "The lack of blockbuster films and the increasingly cautious choices of moviegoers appear to have dampened the vibrancy of theaters."
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