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China’s box office totalled $3.4bn (Rmb 23.9bn) in the first six months of 2024, down 9% year-on-year despite a strong start at Chinese New Year, according to consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Ticket sales from the first half of the year were also the lowest since 2016, according to additional figures from Maoyan Research Institute, a subsidiary of service provider Maoyan Entertainment. This excludes 2020 and 2022 when cinemas were closed for lengthy periods due to the Covid pandemic.

Artisan Gateway highlighted that cinema admissions dipped 8.9% year-on-year to 550 million, while the average ticket price stands at just over $6 (RMB43.4), which has remained relatively stable for the last three years.

Leading Chinese film studio, Alibaba Pictures has announced a slate of seven tentpole movies that it hopes will reinvigorate the mainland China box office.

The titles straddle martial arts, drama, history, sci-fi and comedy and are presented as the first elements of the company’s second five year plan.

They were revealed on Monday at a major event within the ongoing Shanghai International Film Festival and with large numbers of relevant producers, directors and stars in attendance.

“At a time when the film market needs vigor, we need more tentpole productions to keep it working,” said Li Jie, Alibaba Pictures president. In notes provided, the company pointed out that the mainland China box office last year recovered to 85% of its pre-pandemic level and that, so far in 2024, the Chinese box office is the world’s largest.

However, there are worries that recent film industry prosperity may falter. Indeed, 2024 box office...

Foreign visitors were in short supply at Saturday’s opening ceremony of the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival, but that did little to diminish the festive atmosphere.

The ceremony was held at the Shanghai Grand Theater in the downtown area on an evening that was warm and spring-like and without the “plum rain” or summer downpours that the city is known for at this time of year.

Arguably the biggest names in attendance were Hong Kong actor and “Westworld” star Daniel Wu, Hong Kong director Dante Lam, Chinese star actor-director-producer Xu Zheng and Japanese actor Yakusho Koji, who won the best actor award a year ago at Cannes for his leading role in Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days.” Marco Mueller, a celebrated festival director and artistic consultant, was also on hand in his adopted home town.

Wu was representing new film “Decoded,” directed by Chen Sicheng, whose “Lost in the Stars...

I Am Nobody is a refreshing blend of martial arts, mystical sorcery, and multi-tiered humor, offering a satisfying surprise for American audiences with its free availability on YouTube. The introduction of an AI-generated actress in the series sparks curiosity and intrigue, but her role is minor and not visually revolutionary. While AI innovation is making strides in the entertainment industry, I Am Nobody proves that human actors still play a crucial role and won't be replaced by computer creations anytime soon.

Besides being adapted from a beloved Chinese webcomic called Under One Person, which was written by author Dong Man Tang in 2015 (which was also later made into a Chinese/Japanese anime titled Hitori no Shita: The Outcast about a year later), the newly released live-action retelling called I Am Nobody that Tencent Animation and Comics have produced is a refreshing blend of martial arts, mystical sorcery, and multi-tiered humor.