China’s summer movie season heats up with 30-day box-office streak

China's 2026 summer box office has topped 8.5 billion yuan ($1.26 billion), with daily earnings exceeding 100 million yuan for 30 consecutive days, according to Maoyan, an online ticketing platform.

Three films have emerged as the biggest draws so far. Kung Fu Soccer leads the chart with about 2.2 billion yuan, followed by the animated film All Wishes Come True and Hollywood blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Together, the three films have brought in nearly 60 percent of the summer season's total box office.

But the summer lineup is far from settled. More films are joining the competition, including Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, which combines an anti-war story with food and everyday life, as well as the romantic fantasy To Your Island and the action-adventure film The Odyssey.

For moviegoers, the cost of a trip to the cinema has also fallen. The average ticket price nationwide is now 39.6 yuan, 4.3 yuan lower than a year earlier. The government has also launched a year-long campaign to support the film industry, with at least 1.2 billion yuan in subsidies planned to make movie tickets more affordable.