CCTV news: According to online platform data, as of 1:45 pm on July 19, the 2026 Chinese movie box office (including pre-sales) has exceeded 20 billion yuan, and "Flying Life 3", "A Love Letter to Grandma" and "The Daredevil: Wind Rises in the Desert" are temporarily among the top three box office of the year.With the release of many new films in the summer season, the film market has also ushered in a new wave of movie-watching craze.

In a movie theater in Wuxi, Jiangsu, many viewers used their free time to come and watch new summer movies.Among them, the comedy film "Kung Fu Girls" combines traditional kung fu culture with modern sports, and shows the tenacity of the women's football team in a lighthearted and nonsensical comedy form, attracting many viewers.So far, the box office of "Kung Fu Girls" has exceeded 1.4 billion yuan, ranking among the top five in the annual box office.Cinema staff said that at present, the cinema has a film scheduling rate of more than 50% every day, and the attendance rate is almost over 50%. This high-level film scheduling strategy will continue this week.

In addition to "Kung Fu Girls", the entire summer film list is also very rich, covering the viewing needs of audiences of different ages, including the animated film "Eight Immortals!"", the science fiction film "When the Stars Shine" and other new Chinese and foreign films are being released one after another, which is expected to set off a new wave of movie viewing.

During the summer vacation, Wuxi City also issued over one million yuan in summer movie coupons, including 15 yuan parent-child coupons and 8 yuan student coupons, further lowering the threshold for movie viewing.The cinema stated that the combination of consumer coupons and the cinema's own discounts has effectively stimulated the enthusiasm of students and parents for watching movies, and this favorable policy will cover the entire summer season and continue to heat up the cinema market.

Three new changes behind the 20 billion yuan box office

The total box office of Chinese movies will exceed 20 billion yuan in 2026. Decoding this milestone, we see three new changes in Chinese movies.Let’s take a look at the reporter’s observations.

The first highlight is that since the beginning of this year, China’s film content supply side has flourished, and the layout of theater film types is very balanced. There are popular commercial comedy blockbusters such as "Flying Life 3" and "Kung Fu Girls", as well as "A Love Letter to Grandma"There are masterpieces with realistic themes that are rooted in the local area and are delicate and heart-warming, as well as suspense and action films such as "The Silence of the Insect" and "The Bodyguard" to meet the viewing preferences of different audiences. Content foundation, promotion assistance, and word-of-mouth sustainability are all complementary to each other, and the entire Chinese film creation ecosystem is becoming increasingly mature.

The second highlight is the strong rise of national style animation, innovative adaptation of traditional cultural IP, and an increasingly complete viewing matrix for all ages.Especially in this summer season, more than ten domestically produced and Chinese-style animations were released together, becoming the backbone of stabilizing the box office market.The hit animation "Eight Immortals!""Based on the legend of the Eight Immortals, it uses light-hearted comedy to interpret the core of the Chinese spirit of being good; "Three Kingdoms Part 1: Fighting for Luoyang" tells the story of the Three Kingdoms with innovative narratives.At the same time, many overseas animated films were released, providing audiences with more choices with differentiated content.

The third highlight is that policies empower industry innovation. Local governments rely on the National Film Administration’s policies to promote the diversification of cinema operations. The diversified upgrades of cinemas and the cross-border integration of film, culture and tourism continue to increase the value of the entire film industry chain.Major movie theaters have added cultural and creative exhibition halls, themed check-in areas, light snack cafes, and XR immersive experience spaces to revitalize idle theaters during the day and bid farewell to the single-screening hall model.At the same time, "travel with movies", "travel with movies in China" and "appreciate intangible cultural heritage with movies" continue to be popular. A movie ticket connects a complete closed loop of movie viewing, travel, experience and consumption, allowing the life cycle of movie IP to go beyond the theaters and empower the development of the real economy.According to estimates, driven by small ticket stubs, the output value of China's entire film industry chain will exceed 310 billion yuan in 2026.

The 20 billion box office node is a new starting point for moving forward. By deeply cultivating content, polishing industry, and broadening industry boundaries, Chinese films are steadily moving towards a new stage of higher-quality development.