The domestic box office has taken a significant downturn, with a total box office revenue of only 415 billion by the end of December 2024. Despite the addition of the Christmas period, the total box office revenue is unlikely to exceed 470 billion, a number that is essentially on par with 2015 levels. This marks a return to the box office performance of ten years ago.
Industry insiders attribute the decline to several factors. The recent release of some movies, such as 'Breaking Hell', 'The Lion Cubs 2', 'The Good Stuff', and 'Like Father, Like Son', have received scores of over 8 on Douban, but have yet to demonstrate impressive box office performance.
The market has been divided into hot and cold periods this year, with the Spring Festival box office maintaining a high level of 80.51 billion, but the summer box office taking a sharp turn for the worse. According to a report from Maoyan Research Institute, the summer box office saw a 44% decline in total revenue compared to the same period last year, with audience attendance also plummeting by over 50%.
The quality of film supply is a major issue, with many films featuring dull and unoriginal storylines, lacking in depth and creativity. The imbalance in film types and genres is another concern. While film genres appear diverse, few movies are able to lead the audience's preferences and become market hotspots. Comedies often resort to lowbrow humor to gain attention, while science fiction films are limited by their technical and creative constraints, making it difficult to create a believable future world. Certain niche film topics may have unique perspectives, but their appeal is limited to a narrow audience, failing to garner widespread attention.