Mainland China’s box office has reached an all time record for this summer’s ticket sales, according to ticketing agency Maoyan Entertainment. According to the agency, the box office has beat the previous record of ¥17.8 billion (nearly $2.5 billion USD), surpassing 2018’s previous record with minimal help from Hollywood movies.

2023 has beat the record with about two weeks to go in the summer season, which Maoyan defines as the beginning of June until the end of August. 

The box office has seen a number of domestic hits, including: Lost in the Stars, a mystery drama; No More Bets, a crime-action; Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, a xianxia (historical/mythological fantasy film); One and Only, a youth dance-drama; Chang An, an animated film; and Never Say Never, a martial arts drama.

American movies, on the other hand, did not fare as well as they did pre-COVID. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts earned $97 million and Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part 1 earned $51 million; Barbie reached $36 million. As Meg 2: The Trench was jointly produced in China and starred several Chinese actors, Chinese people considered it a local movie; it has made $104 million so far.

Another data provider in China, Artisan Gateway, has reported that China’s total box-office revenue in 2023 has reached $5.51 billion, way ahead of figures last year and just behind numbers pre-COVID.