Up until the 1980s, the Chinese box office was typically reported in terms of box office admissions (ticket sales), rather than gross revenue. The film with the highest ticket sales in China is Legend of the White Snake (1980) with an estimated 700 million admissions,[4][5] followed by In-Laws (Full House of Joy) (zh) with 650 million ticket sales.[6][7] The foreign film with the highest ticket sales in China was the 1976 Japanese film Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare (Manhunt), which had its Chinese release in 1978 and sold more than 330 million tickets in China,[11] followed by the Indian film Caravan (1971) which had its Chinese release in 1979 and sold about 300 million tickets in China.[15] Hollywood film releases were relatively rare in China up until First Blood (1982), which had its Chinese release in 1985,[30] and went on to sell 76 million tickets, the highest for a Hollywood film in China up until 2018.
Zhou Enlai (zh) was released in 1992 and became China's highest-grossing film with CN¥270 million.[8] China began releasing box office gross revenue results for foreign non-Chinese films in November 1994, upon the release of The Fugitive (1993).[31][32] In 1995, the Hong Kong action film Rumble in the Bronx, directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan, became the all-time highest-grossing foreign film in China,[31] where it grossed CN¥110 million;[33] it is not considered a domestic film as it was produced in Hong Kong (then a British Dependent Territory). It was above the year's highest domestic Chinese film, Jiang Wen's In the Heat of the Sun with ¥50 million.[31] Stanley Tong and Jackie Chan surpassed their own record with the Hong Kong action film Police Story 4: First Strike (1996), which grossed CN¥112 million in China.[34] In 1998, Titanic (directed by James Cameron) became the all-time highest-grossing film to be released in China, with a then-unprecedented ¥360 million. In 2002, Hero became the second highest-grossing domestic film, with CN¥250 million. China's first domestic film to breach ¥360 million was released in 2009, The Founding of a Republic.[31] In 2015, Monster Hunt became the first domestic film in 17 years to become the overall highest-grossing film in China, earning ¥2.44 billion.[31]
High-grossing films by year
Since the 1990s, the most represented filmmaker in the chart has been American film director Michael Bay with four films to his credit, occupying the top spot in 2001, 2007, 2011, and 2014. Among domestic filmmakers, Feng Xiaogang (1999, 2003, 2008), Zhang Yimou (2002, 2006, 2023), Stephen Chow (2004, 2013, 2016), Chen Kaige (2005, 2021, 2022) and Dante Lam (2018, 2021, 2022) are the most represented with three films each.
Films that are currently in cinema (as of February 2025)
More information Year, Title ...
Highest-grossing films by year of release
| Year |
Title |
Revenue |
Admissions |
Country / Region |
Ref |
| 1939 |
Children of China |
Unknown |
9,000,000 |
China |
[35] |
| 1950 |
Iron Soldier |
Unknown |
11,000,000 |
China |
[36] |
| 1951 |
The White Haired Girl |
Unknown |
6,000,000 |
China |
[37] |
| 1954 |
A Torn Lily |
Unknown |
8,722,000 |
Hong Kong |
|
| 1955 |
Awaara (The Vagabond) |
Unknown |
100,000,000+[b] |
India |
[28] |
| 1956 |
The Peerless Beauty |
Unknown |
11,645,000 |
Hong Kong |
[38] |
| 1962 |
The Red Shoes |
Unknown |
44,000,000 |
United Kingdom |
|
| 1965 |
Tunnel War |
Unknown |
300,000,000+ |
China |
[14] |
| 1973 |
Maihua guniang (The Flower Seller) |
Unknown |
6,000,000 |
North Korea |
[39] |
| 1978 |
Manhunt |
Unknown |
400,000,000 |
Japan |
[10][11] |
| 1979 |
Gunshots in the CIB (Bao mi ju de qiang sheng) |
¥180,000,000 |
600,000,000 |
China |
[8][9] |
| 1980 |
Legend of the White Snake (Bai she zhuan) |
Unknown |
700,000,000 |
China |
[4][5] |
| 1981 |
In-Laws (Full House of Joy) (zh) |
¥100,000,000 |
650,000,000 |
China |
[6][7] |
| 1982 |
Shaolin Temple |
¥161,578,014 |
500,000,000 |
China, Hong Kong |
[40][5][8] |
| 1983 |
Wudang (The Undaunted Wudang) |
Unknown |
610,000,000 |
China |
[6] |
| 1984 |
Deadly Fury (Pride's Deadly Fury) |
Unknown |
500,000,000 |
China |
[6] |
| 1985 |
Holy Robe of the Shaolin Temple (Mui mien ka sha) |
Unknown |
200,000,000 |
Hong Kong |
[17] |
| 1986 |
Great Shanghai 1937 (Da Shang Hai 1937) |
Unknown |
121,000,000 |
China, Hong Kong |
[18] |
| 1987 |
Mirage (Hai shi shen lou) |
Unknown |
113,000,000 |
China, Hong Kong |
[18] |
| 1988 |
Yellow River Fighter |
Unknown |
130,000,000 |
China |
[41] |
| 1989 |
The Birth of New China |
¥100,000,000 |
Unknown |
China |
[42] |
| 1990 |
My Beloved (zh) |
¥94,000,000 |
Unknown |
Taiwan |
|
| 1992 |
Zhou Enlai (zh) |
¥270,000,000 |
100,000,000 |
China |
[8] |
| 1994 |
The Fugitive |
¥25,800,000 |
Unknown |
United States |
[32] |
| 1995 |
Rumble in the Bronx |
¥110,000,000 |
Unknown |
Hong Kong |
[33] |
| 1996 |
Police Story 4: First Strike |
¥112,000,000 |
Unknown |
Hong Kong |
[34] |
| 1997 |
The Lost World: Jurassic Park |
¥72,100,000 |
Unknown |
United States |
[31] |
| The Opium War |
¥72,000,000+ |
14,000,000 |
China |
[43] |
| 1998 |
Titanic |
¥360,000,000 |
40,039,923 |
United States |
[31][44] |
| 1999 |
Be There or Be Square |
¥43,000,000 |
Unknown |
China |
[31] |
| 2000 |
Final Decision |
¥120,000,000 |
Unknown |
China |
[31] |
| 2001 |
Pearl Harbor |
¥105,000,000 |
Unknown |
United States |
[32] |
| 2002 |
Hero |
¥250,000,000 |
Unknown |
China |
[31] |
| 2003 |
Cell Phone |
¥56,000,000 |
Unknown |
China |
[45] |
| 2004 |
Kung Fu Hustle |
¥173,000,000 |
Unknown |
China, Hong Kong |
[31] |
| 2005 |
The Promise |
¥181,000,000 |
Unknown |
China |
[31] |
| 2006 |
Curse of the Golden Flower |
¥291,000,000 |
7,710,000 |
China |
[31][46] |
| 2007 |
Transformers |
¥282,000,000 |
9,310,000 |
United States |
[31][47] |
| 2008 |
If You Are the One |
¥325,000,000 |
9,500,000 |
China |
[31][48] |
| 2009 |
2012 |
¥466,000,000 |
17,623,604 |
United States |
[49][50] |
| 2010 |
Avatar |
¥1,339,860,000 |
49,179,036 |
United States |
[1][51][c] |
| 2011 |
Transformers: Dark of the Moon |
¥1,071,570,000 |
25,652,900 |
United States |
[1][54][55] |
| 2012 |
Lost in Thailand |
¥1,271,950,000 |
39,281,300 |
China |
[1][56][57] |
| 2013 |
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons |
¥1,246,990,000 |
31,050,300 |
China, Hong Kong |
[1][58] |
| 2014 |
Transformers: Age of Extinction |
¥1,977,520,000 |
47,417,700 |
United States |
[1][59] |
| 2015 |
Monster Hunt |
¥2,440,020,000 |
65,689,800 |
China, Hong Kong |
[1][60] |
| 2016 |
The Mermaid |
¥3,392,110,000 |
92,642,600 |
China, Hong Kong |
[1][61] |
| 2017 |
Wolf Warrior 2 |
¥5,679,290,000 |
160,000,000 |
China |
[1][20] |
| 2018 |
Operation Red Sea |
¥3,650,790,000 |
93,610,000 |
China, Hong Kong |
[1][62] |
| 2019 |
Ne Zha |
¥5,013,350,000 |
140,000,000 |
China |
[1][22] |
| 2020 |
The Eight Hundred |
¥3,102,320,000 |
80,919,900 |
China |
[1][63] |
| 2021 |
The Battle at Lake Changjin |
¥5,875,450,000 |
125,000,000 |
China |
[1][23] |
| 2022 |
The Battle at Lake Changjin II |
¥4,067,330,000 |
|
China |
[64] |
| 2023 |
Full River Red |
¥4,545,890,000 |
|
China |
[65] |
| 2024 |
YOLO |
¥3,295,970,000 |
|
China |
[66] |
| 2025 |
Ne Zha 2 |
¥15,462,580,000 |
330,000,000 |
China |
[13][67] |
Close
Box office milestones
More information Milestone, Title ...
| Milestone |
Title |
Total gross |
Country / Region |
Date reached |
Ref |
| 5,000,000 tickets |
The White Haired Girl |
6,000,000 tickets |
China |
1951 |
|
| 10,000,000 tickets |
Iron Soldier |
11,000,000 tickets |
China |
1952 |
|
| 20,000,000 tickets |
Awaara (The Vagabond) |
100,000,000+ tickets |
India |
1955 |
|
| 30,000,000 tickets |
The Red Shoes |
44,000,000 tickets |
United Kingdom |
1962 |
|
| 40,000,000 tickets |
1963 |
| 50,000,000 tickets |
Awaara (The Vagabond) |
100,000,000+ tickets |
India |
1978 |
[28] |
| 100,000,000 tickets |
| 200,000,000 tickets |
Tunnel War |
300,000,000+ tickets |
China |
1978 |
[14] |
| 300,000,000 tickets |
| 400,000,000 tickets |
Manhunt |
400,000,000 tickets |
Japan |
1979 |
[10][11] |
| 500,000,000 tickets |
Gunshots in the CIB |
600,000,000 tickets |
China |
1979 |
[8] |
| 600,000,000 tickets |
1980 |
| 700,000,000 tickets |
Legend of the White Snake |
700,000,000 tickets |
China |
1985 |
[4][5] |
| ¥100,000,000 |
Gunshots in the CIB |
¥180,000,000 |
China |
1980 |
[8] |
| ¥200,000,000 |
Zhou Enlai (zh) |
¥270,000,000 |
China |
1992 |
[8] |
| ¥300,000,000 |
Titanic |
¥360,000,000 |
United States |
1998-02-01 |
[68] |
| ¥400,000,000 |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen |
¥403,665,000 |
United States |
2009-08-02 |
[69] |
| ¥500,000,000 |
Avatar |
¥1,160,500,000 |
United States |
2010-01-17 |
[70] |
| ¥1,000,000,000 |
2010-02-08 |
[71] |
| ¥2,000,000,000 |
Furious 7 |
¥2,426,590,000 |
United States |
2015-04-26 |
[72] |
| ¥2,400,000,000 |
Monster Hunt |
¥2,440,020,000 |
China, Hong Kong |
2015-09-06 |
[73] |
| ¥3,000,000,000 |
The Mermaid |
¥3,392,100,000 |
China, Hong Kong |
2016-02-26 |
[74] |
| ¥4,000,000,000 |
Wolf Warrior 2 |
¥5,679,290,000 |
China |
2017-08-13 |
[75] |
| ¥5,000,000,000 |
2017-08-19 |
[76] |
| ¥5,500,000,000 |
The Battle at Lake Changjin |
¥5,875,450,000 |
China |
2021-10-31 |
[77] |
| ¥6,000,000,000 |
Ne Zha 2 |
¥15,462,580,000 |
China |
2025-02-06 |
[78] |
| ¥7,000,000,000 |
2025-02-08 |
[79] |
| ¥8,000,000,000 |
2025-02-10 |
[80] |
| ¥9,000,000,000 |
2025-02-12 |
[81] |
| ¥10,000,000,000 |
2025-02-14 |
[82] |
| ¥11,000,000,000 |
2025-02-15 |
[83] |
| ¥12,000,000,000 |
2025-02-17 |
[84] |
| ¥13,000,000,000 |
2025-02-22 |
[85] |
| ¥14,000,000,000 |
2025-02-28 |
[86] |
| ¥15,000,000,000 |
2025-03-14 |
[87] |
Close