A movie theater in Shanghai Photo: VCG
As the Spring Festival is
mkapproaching, various areas across China are rolling out a range of measures to attract more moviegoers into theaters during the upcoming holiday film season.
In terms of policy support, areas including Beijing, South China's Guangdong Province and East China's Jiangsu Province are actively providing movie ticket discounts to moviegoers, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
An event coordinator from the Beijing Municipal Film Administration told the Global Times on Tuesday that Beijing is offering a subsidy of 33 million yuan ($4.5 million), which will be directly applied to online ticket purchases at checkout. This initiative is set to start on the first day of the Chinese New Year.
It's not just Beijing, Jiangsu will issue 60 million yuan in movie vouchers for major film seasons such as the Spring Festival and National Day in 2025. Guangdong, which is participating in the movie consumption initiative for the first time, will distribute 38 million yuan in vouchers across three phases from January 19 to August 31. These are just a few of the many provinces and cities offering discounts to moviegoers.
A staff member surnamed Fu from Chinese online movie ticket platform Taopiaopiao told the Global Times that the platform is responsible for managing a government-sponsored movie discount campaign and that the people working on it feel a sense of responsibility to promote cinema attendance.
She added that the timing of these campaigns varies across provinces and cities. In Beijing, the promotion is more concentrated, mainly taking place during the Spring Festival, providing a short-term boost. In Guangdong, the campaign will run for a longer period, potentially extending into the summer months, around August.
"At present, these measures seem to be quite effective. Some theaters in certain provinces are even showing signs of a decrease in losses," Fu said.
After advanced film ticket bookings opened on Sunday morning, the pre-sales for the lucrative season had reached over 300 million yuan by Tuesday afternoon, according to ticketing platform Maoyan.
Currently, six films have been confirmed for 2025 Spring Festival release, including moves in popular franchises such as The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero, Ne Zha 2, and Detective Chinatown 1900. Shi Wenxue, a film industry expert and a veteran culture critic, told the Global Times that the discounted movie tickets have, to some extent, drawn families who previously avoided going to the cinema due to high ticket costs. Moreover, the variety of genres and audience's familiarity with these franchises are among the reasons why theaters are optimistic about the 2025 Spring Festival box office.
"We can expect to see films in genres such as animation, martial arts, and adventure, and many of these films are sequels to well-loved films, giving audiences a sense of familiarity as they head to theaters," Shi said.
Based on the films, local theaters have made operational adjustments, dynamically increasing the screen share for the most popular films to ensure audience demand is met.
According to CCTV News, a theater in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, has already scheduled 33 screenings of films on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year. Based on past years, the daily number of screenings of the theater during the festival can increase to over 60.
In addition, theaters are organizing a series of promotional events, from interactive activities to thematic decorations in order to further enhance audience experience and make theaters more attractive.
A manager of a theater in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, affiliated with China Film International said that they have completed a special movie-themed area for The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero during the Spring Festival, where moviegoers can receive stamps featuring characters in the film by purchasing tickets and even win exclusive merchandise, such as a drawn martial arts instruction manual.
"We've noticed that pre-sale tickets for this film are particularly popular, and some eager audiences have even called us for more information. We're aiming to create activities that make the experience more interactive for our audiences," Zhen said.
In Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, theaters have extended their operating hours to 2 am during the Spring Festival to accommodate the diverse viewing schedules of moviegoers and to ensure that everyone can watch their favorite films at times convenient to them.
"One can see that policies stimulating consumption in the cultural and entertainment industries are working - the influx of moviegoers into theaters is no longer solely dependent on the content of the film," Shi explained.
"The promotional activities of theaters also play a role in creating a more engaging experience, making audiences feel more involved."
However, Shi also expressed some concerns.
"It's like the hustle and bustle of a morning market during festivals: The atmosphere is great, but the key to long lines is whether the quality of the films is actually good."
He noted that while all these efforts create a festive movie-going environment, it is ultimately the quality of the films that will determine whether they can maintain a strong reputation and keep audiences coming back. "We'll have to see if the quality of these films can live up to expectations and sustain word-of-mouth buzz," Shi said.
