China’s 2026 National Day holiday film box office tops 500 million yuan
In short
Box office for new films in China’s 2026 National Day holiday period passed 500 million yuan, with Jiemian saying, citing the ticketing platform Lighthouse, that the figure includes previews and presales. China News Service reported the holiday box office broke 500 million yuan on October 4 and that this year’s total box office has passed 30 billion yuan. 《神探之痕迹》 leads the holiday chart with more than 200 million yuan, according to China News Service, and heads Jiemian’s provisional top-five list.
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Box office for new films in China’s 2026 National Day holiday period surpassed 500 million yuan, according to Yicai and Jiemian. Jiemian said, citing the ticketing platform Lighthouse, that the total includes previews and presales. China News Service reported that the holiday box office broke 500 million yuan on October 4 and that the year’s box office had passed 30 billion yuan. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
《神探之痕迹》 led the period with more than 200 million yuan, China News Service reported. Jiemian listed it first among the films provisionally in the top five, followed by 《什么意思夫妇》, 《小猪佩奇·完美假期》, 《重生2》 and 《生化危机：爆发夜》. China News Service gave the first-place film only, while Jiemian provided the wider ordering. [ 1 , 3 ]
China News Service said this year’s holiday slate spans comedy, suspense, drama and animation, and that nine films have passed 1 billion yuan so far in 2026, compared with eight in all of 2025. The top five films on the 2026 annual chart are all domestic productions, it said. The outlet also reported that ticket subsidy programmes have lowered average ticket prices, and that screenings and admissions for the period reached record highs for the same stretch of the year. As of end-September, 438 net new cinemas and 2,632 screens had been added, taking the national total to nearly 96,000 screens, the most in the world. [ 1 ]
The reports place the box office in the context of the National Film Administration’s film economy promotion campaign, under which China News Service described activities linking cinema to travel, food, heritage sites, shopping and sport. It said 《八仙！》 drove bookings growth at Yongle Palace, the Hanging Temple and the Jinci Museum in Shanxi, while 《欢迎来龙餐馆》, filmed in the Shitanjing cultural tourism film town in Shizuishan, Ningxia, drew more than 10,000 visitors a day. Qingdao launched themed “follow the film to tour Qingdao” routes, and the outlet cited an estimate that the film industry chain’s output value has exceeded 470 billion yuan this year. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The holiday period is a major release window for China’s film market, and the reported results, record screenings and admissions, and a screen count of nearly 96,000 indicate the domestic industry is still expanding. China News Service ties the period to a state film-economy campaign that channels cinema audiences into tourism and catering, so the numbers are presented as a consumption signal as well as an entertainment one.
Key facts
- Box office for 2026 National Day holiday new films surpassed 500 million yuan, according to Yicai and Jiemian; Jiemian, citing Lighthouse, said the total includes previews and presales. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- China News Service reported the holiday box office broke 500 million yuan on October 4 and that the year’s box office has exceeded 30 billion yuan. [ 1 ]
- 《神探之痕迹》 had taken more than 200 million yuan and ranked first for the period, China News Service said; Jiemian listed it first among the provisional top five. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Jiemian listed 《什么意思夫妇》, 《小猪佩奇·完美假期》, 《重生2》 and 《生化危机：爆发夜》 as the other films provisionally in the top five. [ 3 ]
- Nine films have passed 1 billion yuan this year, more than the eight in all of last year, and the top five of the 2026 annual chart are all domestic films, according to China News Service. [ 1 ]
- China had 438 net new cinemas and 2,632 new screens as of end-September, with total screens near 96,000, the most in the world, China News Service reported. [ 1 ]
- China News Service cited an estimate that the film industry chain’s output value has exceeded 470 billion yuan this year. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the 500 million yuan figures reported by the three outlets use the same calculation basis. China News Service refers to holiday film box office, while Jiemian says the total includes previews and presales; the documents do not state whether the measures are identical.
- The exact dates covered by the 2026 National Day holiday box office period. No document gives the start and end dates of the period being counted.
- Who calculated the figure of more than 470 billion yuan in film industry chain output value. China News Service attributes it only to an estimate, without naming the body that produced it.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- China News Service reports the holiday box office passed 500 million yuan and that the year’s box office has exceeded 30 billion yuan. [ 1 ]
- Yicai reports that 2026 National Day holiday new film box office broke 500 million yuan. [ 2 ]
- Jiemian, citing Lighthouse, reports total box office for holiday new films including previews and presales exceeded 500 million yuan, and lists five films provisionally leading the period. [ 3 ]