Leading movie theater chains in China 2024, by monthly box office revenue

Watching films is a widely enjoyed form of recreation, with several technological advancements having occurred over the years. China has invested heavily in its film and cinema industry to cater to the needs of movie buffs and before the pandemic in 2019, there were about ** theater chains in China. Wanda Cinema Line was leading the market with a box office revenue of almost *** million yuan in December 2024, followed by China Film Group with *** million yuan. 

The Chinese film industry

Much like the United States, China has a booming film industry that in 2021 was ranked the largest in the world in terms of gross box office revenue. In 2024, about ** thousand cinema screens were housed in over ** thousand movie theaters across the nation. The leading movie theater chains in China receive over ****** visitors every day. 

Consumption of Chinese film productions

The number of film tickets sold across China has grossed over *********** in pre-pandemic times, but has remained below *** billion since then. Of the overall box office revenue earned within China in 2024, domestic productions accounted for ** percent. This was relatively higher than a decade ago, when imported movies constituted a considerable share of box office revenues. While an increase in overseas box office revenue generated by Chinese movies has been noted, there is a vast margin of difference between the revenues generated in the homeland compared to abroad.